BUS603: Managing People

Knowing that different kinds of destructive leadership impact followers differently has important implications for practice. Practitioners, for the purpose of leadership development and coaching, will be able to understand destructive leadership in a more nuanced manner. This allows for more tailored interventions that take into account the impact that is likely to be expected from a certain type of destructive behavior. Related to this, in our view, the results of our studies generally point to the importance of customizing organizational interventions. This means that first the destructive leader behavior needs to be assessed to understand it in terms of the target of the behavior and the level of hostility. Next, interventions can be chosen – for example, personal coaching for the leader can work on the specific harming behaviors. In targeting specific behaviors in a customized way in coaching and training, digital learning methods can be highly beneficial in offering individualized solutions. For instance, apps are used to help leaders apply new behaviors in their daily work and receive instant feedback. With knowledge about the specific behaviors, mechanisms, and effects of different types of destructive leader behavior, this may be a promising avenue for future leader training on the job.