In e na ional Jou nal o Social Science and Human Resea ch
ISSN (p in ): 2644-0679, ISSN (online): 2644-0695
Volume 08 Issue 11 No embe 2025
DOI: 10.47191/ijssh / 8-i11-89, Impac ac o - 8.007
Page No: 9246- 9249
IJSSHR, Volume 08 Issue 11 No embe 2025 www.ijssh .in Page 9246
Inside he Toxic T iangle: An In eg a ed Concep ual Analysis o Des uc i e
Leade ship Dynamics
Mohamed Nasheed1, Mi a h Ismail Sha eeq2, Mohamed Mau oo 3, Zubai Hassan4
1,2,3PhD Schola , Islamic Uni e si y o Maldi es
4Assis an P o esso , Islamic Uni e si y o Maldi es
ABSTRACT: This pape o e s a c i ical syn hesis o he oxic iangle amewo k, con i ming i s me i as an inclusi e lens h ough
which o iew oxic leade ship as pa o sys emic dys unc ion ( a he han me ely indi idual pa hology). The des uc i e leade ship
dimensions include oxic leade ship, suscep ible ollowe s and conduci e en i onmen . I has desc ibed how oxic leade s ind a
oo hold in c ises, how he psychology o ollowe s om ea o ambi ion sus ains hei compliance and how ulne able ins i u ional
con ex s enable i s p oli e a ion. The main added alue o his pape is embedding his model in con empo a y digi al wo kplaces
agains hyb id, pos -pandemic unce ain and ola ile backg ounds ha may enhance exis ing d awbacks and gene a e new ones
(e.g., digi al moni o ing, dis ancing employees om physical wo kplace).
KEYWORDS: Toxic leade ship, Suscep ible ollowe s, Conduci e en i onmen , Des uc i e Leade ship
1. PROBLEM STATEMENT
Leade ship is adi ionally celeb a ed as a ca alys o p og ess, inspi a ion, and o ganiza ional success. Taking on he deba e abou
eal wo ld leade s, some desc ibe oxic leade s who con ibu e o des oy he wo ld physically, humans, na u e e c; such as Benjamin
Ne anyahu, Adol Hi le , Sheikh Hasina, and he ecen ly he Gen Z-led o ced o esign P ime Minis e o Nepal, K.P. Sha ma Oli.
A an o ganiza ional le el people like some a gued a e S e en Ballme , Elizabe h Holmes, Vijay Mallya. Des uc i e leade ship is
and has been a widesp ead, insidious menace o he well-being o o ganisa ions, hei wo k o ce and socie y a la ge. Padilla, Hogan,
and Kaise (2007) in oduced he oxic iangle amewo k as an in luen ial heo e ical pe spec i e on his o m o ic imiza ion.
The e a e o he signi ican heo e ical pe spec i es such as he pa adigma ic na u e o des uc i e leade ship which sugges s ha
monas icism is no caused only by a lone allible indi idual bu when h ee elemen s-comp ising a des uc i e leade , ulne able
de o ees and pe missi e condi ions-coincide.
Despi e high explana o y powe o his model, he e a e s ill many esea ch oids, pa icula ly when examining i wi hin he con ex
o cu en pos -pandemic o ganiza ions. In his new epoch, digi al ans o ma ion is accele a ing a an unp eceden ed pace, he
accep ance o hyb id and emo e wo king con inues o gain oo ing; ins i u ional ins abili y is becoming d as ic while employee
expec a ions a e changing (Kni in e al., 2021). I in oduces new ulne abili ies and dynamics ha he base model ge s compa ed
agains . The inc easing p opo ions o co po a ions, go e nmen s and non-p o i o ganiza ions ha ha e been ocked by high-p o ile
scandals s ill demons a e how c i ical he oxic iangle is oday. Ye , comp ehensi e diagnos ic ools and s a egic amewo ks o
p oac i ely iden i ying, p e en ing, and mi iga ing hese des uc i e dynamics emain unde de eloped. This concep ual pape
esponds o his impo an call by e iewing and c i iquing he oxic iangle model, examining i s ela ional componen s as hey
pe ains o mode ni y, and in oducing a mul idimensional(ness) amewo k o s a egies h ough which o ganiza ions can s eng hen
hemsel es in wi hs anding des uc i e leade ship.
2. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
In alignmen wi h he iden i ied esea ch p oblem, his pape aims o achie e he ollowing objec i es:
1. To sys ema ically e iew he heo e ical bases and on ogenesis o , as well as he cen al componen s in, he oxic iangle
model o bad leade ship.
2. To unpack he in ica e, in e ac ing web o ela ionships be ween des uc i e leade s, ulne able ollowe s, and
en i onmen s ha make possible sys emic dys unc ion.
Inside he Toxic T iangle: An In eg a ed Concep ual Analysis o Des uc i e Leade ship Dynamics
IJSSHR, Volume 08 Issue 11 No embe 2025 www.ijssh .in Page 9247
3. To examine he mul i-le el consequences o des uc i e leade ship on indi idual psychological well-being, o ganiza ional
cul u e and in eg i y, and b oade socie al us .
4. To p opose an in eg a ed amewo k o e idence-based s a egies o esea che s, p ac i ione s, and policymake s o
diagnose, p e en , and mi iga e he oxic iangle in mode n o ganiza ions.
3. METHODOLOGY
A sys ema ic e iew o mul iple pape s on oxic leade ship ha e been analyzed o d aw he amewo k necessa y o con ibu e o
he eal-wo ld implica ions heo e ically and p ac ically.
3. LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1 The Founda ion o he Toxic T iangle
The oxic iangle o des uc i e leade s model ep esen s a miles one in he leade ship ield. I hus anscends leade -cen ed
accoun s, and concep ualises oxic leade ship as a second-o de eme gen phenomenon (Padilla e al., 2007). ‘Des uc i e
leade ship’ is e e ed o as beha iou ha de ia es om o ganiza ion’s goals, asks, esou ces and e ec i eness in a way ha i
de ac s subo dina es mo i a ion, well-being o job sa is ac ion (Eina sen e al., 2007). The model’s use ulness is in i s h ee- old
app oach, sugges ing ha such beha io can only h i e when he io; leade , ollowe s and en i onmen come oge he o seed
i sel wi h dynamic coope a ion as depic ed in Figu e 1 (The Th ee Elemen s o Toxic T iangle F amewo k.) below.
Figu e 1: The Th ee Elemen s o Toxic T iangle F amewo k.
Sou ce: Eina sen e al., (2007).
3.2 Des uc i e Leade s
The o he co ne o he iangle consis s o a leade ship model based on des uc ion. These a e o en people who exhibi he
cha ac e is ics o leade ship a a supe icial le el, including cha isma, con idence, and s a egic sigh (Padilla e al., 2007). Bu sue
hese quali ies a e weaponized o manipula e, domina e and glo i y onesel . Co e indi idual di e ences a e na cissism (g andiosi y,
need o admi a ion), a ogance, en i lemen , and psychopa hy (absence o sympa hy, lack o emo se) (Hogan & Kaise , 2005;
Judge e al., 2009). They concen a e powe , s i le dissen and equen ly os e a clima e o ea . Indeed, hey a e o en called upon
a a c isis when hey can bes demons a e hei alue and e ec i eness while dissen e s a e d i en ou o seek exi s; he au ho i a ian
leade ship will do all i akes o consolida e powe (e en i unde he guise o compe ence) as his becomes an excuse o any conduc
whe e hey can con inue o make decisions ha go unchallenged by expendable ic ims and opposi ional c i ics.
3.3 Suscep ible Followe s
Followe s, a om being innocen ic ims, also play hei ole in he oxic iangle. They all in o wo ca ego ies: con o me s, and
collude s (Padillae al., 2007). Con o me s ha e been mo i a ed ou o ea , unsa is ied basic needs (such as o secu i y o
belonging), low sel -es eem, and a pe cep ion ha hey ha e ew iable al e na i es (in pe haps a igh ened job ma ke ). They
passi ely comply in o de o a oid punishmen (Tho oughgood e al., 2012). Collude s, on he o he hand, while me e shadows in
Simpson-land, a e doing some hing hemsel es. Thei a ini y may be ueled by ambi ion o oppo unism, ideological compa ibili y
o he oppo uni y o pa ake o he leade ’s powe and spoils. They can kiss up o he leade , ell on ellow g oup membe s o help
execu e he leade ’s ne a ious o de s (Uhl-Bien e al., 2014). Bo h c ea e a con enien igu e whose ho ible beha io can be
a ionalized and de ended as being in he se ice o his legi ima e leade , while also p e en ing anyone else om s epping o wa d
o s op hem implici ly demons a ing ha wha e e hey a e doing is accep able o he g oup.
3.4 Conduci e En i onmen s
The en i onmen is he ich soil in which seeds o damaging leade ship can g ow. Such a eas a e gene ally ola ile, unce ain and
weakly con olled (Padilla e al., 2007). Fac o s include o ganiza ional c ises ( inancial ins abili y, scandals), changes in he business
Inside he Toxic T iangle: An In eg a ed Concep ual Analysis o Des uc i e Leade ship Dynamics
IJSSHR, Volume 08 Issue 11 No embe 2025 www.ijssh .in Page 9248
en i onmen (me ge s, es uc u ing) and he pe cep ion o ex e nal h ea s o he o ganiza ion (K asiko a e al., 2013). Impo an ly,
de e io a ed go e nance s uc u es, lack o anspa ency, weak boa ds and checks and balances all enable des uc i e leade s o ac
wi h impuni y. A he same ime, a se o cul u al no ms ha alue blind obedience o e speaking ou , loyal y o people o e alues
and p inciples o low psychological sa e y also cons i u e essen ial enable s (Edmondson, 2018). In hese clima es, he e hics o
dissen is synonymous wi h be ayal and mechanisms o blow he whis le a e ei he nonexis en o puni i e.
3.5 Syne gis ic In e ac ions
I is he dynamic in e ac ion o i s cons i uen s which discloses he model's ac ual explana o y powe . A oxic leade (e.g. cha isma ic
na cissis ) ises in a ime o an o ganiza ional down all ( oxic en i onmen ). They o e he illusions o s abili y and success, g oups
hey can ill wi h ollowe s who a e igh ened (con o me s) o ambi ious (collude s). They legi imize he leade 's powe by hei
obedience and suppo . And he leade helps main ain he en i onmen by ea ing down any gua d ails and p omo ing silence. This
leads o a ha m ul posi i e ein o cemen loop in ha each elemen ein o ces he o he elemen s becoming s onge and s onge
(mo e igid) as i does, and he e o e mo e esis an o change un il so much damage has occu ed o example an e hical b eakdown,
inancial calami y o wide sp ead wo ke psychological malaise and su e ing (Mackey e al., 2021).
4. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS
This pape o e s a c i ical syn hesis o he oxic iangle amewo k, con i ming i s me i as an inclusi e lens h ough which o iew
oxic leade ship as pa o sys emic dys unc ion ( a he han me ely indi idual pa hology). I has desc ibed how oxic leade s ind a
oo hold in c ises, how he psychology o ollowe s om ea o ambi ion sus ains hei compliance and how ulne able ins i u ional
con ex s enable i s p oli e a ion. The main added alue o his pape is embedding his model in con empo a y digi al wo kplaces
agains hyb id, pos -pandemic unce ain and ola ile backg ounds ha may enhance exis ing d awbacks and gene a e new ones
(e.g., digi al moni o ing, dis ancing employees om physical wo k place).
The implica ions o heo y and p ac ice a e wide- anging and necessi a e ac ion ac oss sys em le els:
• Fo Co po a e Go e nance and Boa ds: O e sigh is mo e han inancial me ics o e sigh includes a manda e o con inual
moni o ing o “co po a e” cul u e, leade beha io and e hical clima e. This includes, bu is no limi ed o, he empowe men o
independen non-execu i e di ec o s, ein o ced anonymous and p o ec ed whis le-blowing mechanisms and genuine anspa ency
in decision-making (Ha ey e al., 2021).
• Fo Leade ship De elopmen and Selec ion: Companies can no longe simply selec leade s based on compe ence and
cha isma. The assessmen should measu e in eg i y, humili y, empa hy and a ack eco d o building o he people up. P omo ional
sys ems should c edi æ hically co ec ly equa e he bo om line; only hus will e hics-based judgmen s be ewa ded (Hogan &
Kaise , 2005).
• Fo O ganiza ional P ac ice: O ganiza ions mus in en ionally wo k o c ea e cul u es o psychological sa e y whe e
employees a e no a aid o oice hei opinions, push back on ideas, and aise conce ns wi hou ea o e ibu ion (Edmondson,
2018). This akes hones speaking, e hical codes o conduc i mly suppo ed by ac ion, and leade s who displays weakness and
esponsibili y.
• Fo Policy and Socie y: A a mac o le el, s ong, independen ins i u ions, a ee p ess, and obus legal p o ec ions o
whis leblowe s a e i al bulwa ks agains des uc i e leade ship becoming endemic in public and p i a e sec o s.
Add essing he oxic iangle is going o equi e sus ained igilance and a mul ia ea app oach. Fu u e s udies should empi ically
examine he sugges ed mi iga ions and also in es iga e how each componen o he model ope a es in he digi al age—such as
e idence ega ding whe he social media o ms anew ype o conduci e p o usion, o i online communica ion enables manipula ion
o leade ables. By ho oughly unde s anding and p oac i ely disman ling he oxic iangle, o ganiza ions can o ge a pa h owa d
building mo e e hical, sus ainable, and esilien sys ems o he u u e.
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