Leadership Program of the Rockies

 One generally assumes an effective leaderto be a virtuous, competent visionary.Unfortunately, great, capable ones are rare when compared to the glut of empowered
simpletons.
   Poor leaders are often very effective indeed - at achieving undesirable outcomes. They possess enormous destructive capacity. Yet they are tolerated with baffling frequency by those who pay the price.
   Such is the topic of a Master's thesis written three years ago by Col. Dennis Williams at the U.S. Army War College. Col. Williams noted that while most studies in leadership focus on positive qualities, the Army would do well to identify the qualities of destructive, "toxic" leadership.
   Williams identified 18 types of toxic leaders observed in the Army - the paranoid leader, the compulsive leader, the rigid leader, etc. Williams addressed the reasons toxic leadership is tolerated. For example, some warrior traits valued during enemy combat actually prove counterproductive when applied to members of the platoon.
   Williams supplied the Army thoughtful
answers. Toxic traits should be identified
early. Emerging leaders who can't adapt to
alternating settings and shifting missions
should be reassigned accordingly or perfected early in their careers before being promoted.
   As toxic leaders acquire more authority,
their capacity to inflict disaster grows exponentially. What Col. Williams observed in the Army is easily applicable to civilian settings. So are the remedies.

   LPR exists to nurture positive civic leadership. It's part of our commitment here at home to Col. Williams and his brethren in arms. What they defend on the battlefield is important and real to combatants in the public square, and vice versa.