Skunked

Abstract

Dysfunctional leaders are described in the research literature as those leaders who consistently place burdensome structures in the path of progress, intentionally or unintentionally violate psychological contracts, and generally treat their employees with a disrespectful approach. Research suggests that upward of 13% to 36% of employees in the United States work with a leader whose approach could be described as dysfunctional. Yet, research regarding this negative organizational phenomenon is surprisingly limited. Moreover, scholarship in the field of human resource development (HRD) is nearly void of research on this topic. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to examine the literature on dysfunctional leadership and to highlight conceptual links present across various streams of scholarship. Specifically, we systematically categorized the dysfunctional behaviors that leaders exhibit, highlighted the short- and long-term effects of working under a dysfunctional leader as well as documented the known strategies for working through the effects of dysfunction.