Ep 5: Authoritarian Leaders, Abusive Supervisors: When Workplaces Turn Toxic

In this episode, we reflect on the dynamics of authoritarian leadership and the dangers of abusive supervision. We highlight the crucial distinction between authoritative leadership - that provides clarity, direction, vision, and empathic motivation - and authoritarian leadership, which relies on control, coercion, and the silencing of dissent. We consider the conditions that create fertile ground for unethical and abusive leadership and draw on examples that illustrate how fear-based and abusive management practices harm not only employees, but also the integrity of institutions and the wellbeing of the communities they serve. Recent examples include the tragic murder of the whistleblower known as Witness D in the Madlanga Commission (https://criminaljusticecommission.org...) , and allegations of physical and verbal abuse within the African Surfing Confederation (  / urn:li:activity:7402474161681477633  ) . We discuss how organisational culture contributes to abusive environments, and the risks of speaking up against abuse of power. We also reflect on the role of personal characteristics and identity in shaping these dynamics. See here (https://www.business.com/articles/psy...) on the workplace dynamics of abuse of power; and here (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles...) on the potential for employees to behave abusively towards their managers. Also note the harm of "managerial inaction" (https://theconversation.com/what-happ...) - when a manager fails to step in to address disrespect and abuse of power in the workplace. In the University context, see ⁠here ⁠ (https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ...) on the abuse of disciplinary processes, and ⁠here ⁠ (https://www.theguardian.com/commentis...) on the potential for adverse consequences when one's scholarship is at odds with institutional power.