Three Keys to Identifying Toxic Leadership.

Ah ‘toxic’. The most over-used, misunderstood word used by a generation of creatives, staff members and volunteers to describe their leaders. Honestly… If I hear one person throw out the word ‘toxic’ flippantly to describe their leaders I’m going to…

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Oh hey! Didn’t see you there… I’m fine… We’re all fine… But seriously, it seems like ‘toxic’ — along with a slew of other ambiguous terms to be saved for other conversations — is a buzz word in today’s Christian vocabulary. Commonly when I speak to someone who has recently left a church culture or taken a step back from serving has used the term toxic to describe the leadership or the culture or both. But do we really know what we mean when we describe someone’s personality or leadership as toxic?

By the time I’m done with those conversations, commonly we release that…

Yes… there was a difference of opinion or values that led to relational tension.

Yes… there was hurt that occurred because of that tension that needs to be reconciled so that meaningful healing can occur.

No… labelling that individual as toxic is incorrect and only going to lead to a delusional form of healing accompanied by a victim mentality that will ultimately bankrupt any future opportunities for you to engage in meaningful community and ministry again.

Leaders, as human beings, are imperfect in of themselves. And guess what — they commonly exist with a magnifying glass on their personal lives and leadership decisions. As human beings are they likely to hurt other people? Yes. I think most of us, if we’re being honest, can admit that we’ve also been responsible — in part or in whole — for someone’s hurt or pain. But when it’s a leader there’s a sense of trust, of willingness to be vulnerable, that causes that pain to hurt on a different level. I get that… I’ve been there… But…

“Ascribing a title such as toxic to a leader without first asking serious questions and having trusted and healthy conversations with wise oversight only serves to callous our spirit and further delay valuable healing that needs to take place while, or after, serving in a ministry.”

Here are three key to identifying toxic leadership that I have used in the past to determine whether a leader is truly toxic or not.

Metrics are the motivator.

Numbers aren’t bad in of themselves. Jesus was followed by massive crowds (see Luke 14:25, Mark 5:24, Matthew 5:18) and Luke records that the early church numerically grew exponentially (see Acts 2:47). Large numbers at events are inherently evil. But ultimately, numbers prove to be a poor core motivator. Is the crowd a byproduct of a healthy and vibrant culture OR is the crowd the main focus and aim? Does your leader spend the majority of their time talking about metrics and focusing on how to grow that number OR do they allow metrics to inform how effectively they are executing on the vision and mission that God has given them? Where is their main focus?

Take my advice… Don’t be that person that leaves a staff, team or church and when questioned why says, ‘they were all about the show.’ We all know what you mean but it reveals a lack of thought process in your decision to leave. Have the hard conversations and learn to articulate what about a seemingly metric-focused leadership culture is troubling to you.

Healthy Leaders — Look at the metrics (attendance, giving, engagement in small groups, volunteering, etc.) and allow that to inform how effectively they are accomplishing their goals and objectives. While they acknowledge numeric growth or decline, their main point of celebration is individual life transformation and corporate engagement in priority ministries.

Lack of genuine accountability.

Just because a leader has a large group of people that they surrounded by does not mean that they have invited real, tangible accountability. Most leaders have a network or community of other leaders that they exist within — this could be a denomination or simply a group of like-minded leaders. It doesn’t taken maturity to be able to cultivate a list of acquaintances; people who you can call for resources or to speak at events. Commonly, networked pastors are less connected on a local level and can grow detached from their immediate community.

NOTE: I say ‘commonly’ here because I know some amazing leaders who are incredibly present in their local communities and have developed sub-cultures within their leadership to respond to the needs of the local church while also being nationally or internationally networked.

Senior leaders who surround themselves with ‘yes people’ are often dangerously insecure. Healthy leaders invite real conversation to wrestle values, vision, models and methods from both within and outside the organization. Have you noticed that people who question decisions or motives within your community have been pushed away from leadership? Perhaps they’ve been removed from staff positions or teams because they have asked hard questions?

Inversely, don’t be that person who complains that their senior leadership never listens to them or hasn’t invited them to the decision making table. You’re not looking for your own seat at the table… You’re looking to ensure that there is a table and that people have been invited to sit at it. The tension between throwing a hissy fit because you don’t get to sit with the grown ups and noticing a toxic leadership environment with no accountability can sometimes be difficult to live within.

Healthy Leaders — Surround themselves with genuine accountability that they submit to holistically.

Compromise on character.

There’s an old adage that I find myself using on a regular basis: ‘talent gets you in the door, character keeps you there.' Toxic leaders who are consumed with maintaining (commonly self imposed) cultural expectations will begin to cut corners.

“Unhealthy leaders will tolerate poor behaviour to keep the status quo and celebrate other attributes such as talent over personal integrity.”

You’ll commonly notice this on a personal or staff level. Unfortunately, tolerance of poor character or performance within a team is one of the most toxic things that unhealthy leaders inject into their cultures. Its’ toxicity be easily measured by watching otherwise healthy, aspiring and influential leaders within the organization begin to relax their standards or act outside of their normal character. Tolerance gives permission to people to find the lowest common denominator and match themselves to it. Are there regular trends in behaviour of leadership, staff or key volunteers that are not in line with culture’s values but are being tolerated?

Healthy Leaders — Are comfortable upholding their values and refuse to compromise for any reason. They consistently communicate, demonstrate and celebrate the expectations and standards that have been set and fight to protect people from a toxic environment that would erode the character and performance of healthy team members.