Coaching the toxic leader

Senior executives have the power to create an environment that allows people to grow and give their best—or a toxic workplace where everyone is unhappy. How executives end up using that power depends in part on their mental health. Sound, stable bosses generally build companies where the rules make sense to employees, freeing them to focus on performing their jobs well. But if the boss’s psychological makeup is warped, business plans, ideas, interactions, and even the systems and structure of the organization itself will reflect his or her pathologies.