A Blog Link About Toxic Leadership

[ericsauve2]

I read the whole thing. It's clickbait. Your title implies that there is toxic leadership in the CAF, but with the exception of one quote from a friend of yours, you provide no other examples of toxic leadership in the CAF. You do a good job of describing different types of toxic leadership, but at no time do you actually then say or demonstrate that those toxic leadership types exist within the forces.

It would be like me writing a blog post with the title "The Best Donair in Halifax", but then writing nothing but a description of different types of Donairs, and what makes a good Donair.

You are right that I don't provide exemples of toxic leadership in the CAF, I'll give that to you. I'm quoting 2 "friends" by the way, not 1. But if you've never witnessed or experienced toxic leadership in the CAF, good for you. I am jealous, like many, many others. I know people who actually left the CAF because of toxic leadership but clearly you had it good so be thankful.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Sigh.
Toxic leadership can be found anywhere, no one denys it, but it can also be found by those who think they were hard done by or just didn't have the stuff.

 

[Jarnhamar]

You were with Royal 22nd Regiment in the late 90s. How long ago did you release from the CAF?

 

[Furniture]

Maybe we can not dogpile the guy.

I did a quick check on the GAL, he seems to be one of us, and maybe just got off on the wrong foot here.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Maybe we can not dogpile the guy.

I did a quick check on the GAL, he seems to be one of us, and maybe just got off on the wrong foot here.

I don't think he was dogpiled at all, I conceded it was an OK article, but the title was pure clickbait. Thats a 50/50.....

 

[PuckChaser]

You are right that I don't provide exemples of toxic leadership in the CAF, I'll give that to you. I'm quoting 2 "friends" by the way, not 1. But if you've never witnessed or experienced toxic leadership in the CAF, good for you. I am jealous, like many, many others. I know people who actually left the CAF because of toxic leadership but clearly you had it good so be thankful.

I read your article, twice actually to see if i missed something. I know your intent here seems to stir debate and self promote your blog, but the article really falls flat academically and doeant make me interested to read your other work.

You list 3 examples of toxic leaders, but make no attempt to link them to examples of how they manifest in the CAF. You provide solutions to problems you didn't do a good enough job explaining earlier. It smacks of you assuming the reader should just know what you mean and agree with your solutions. It's not convincing at all, and I'm pretty agreeable to the topic that we have a reasonably sized problem with poor/toxic leadership in the CAF.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

I wonder how many minutes you've served in uniform to say that talking about toxic leadership is spam. That, or you live in a world of unicorns and rainbows; if that's the case I envy you.

I likely have more time on leave than you have in uniform, period.

That is beside the point.

My time in the service of Canada now spans 4 decades. That alone doesn’t make me either smart or a good leader. It does give me perspective, however.

I have been around long enough to see thousands of leaders in the CAF range from excellent to toxic (and everything in between). Mostly, I have been exposed to either good or excellent leadership. Occasionally, I have been exposed to to toxic leadership. It exists, but it is not the norm- at least in my experience.

You came here with a half-assed article that others have rightly called out as clickbait, looking either for adulation or a fight.

Your article proposes no real solutions. It reads like it was written by a Chatbot. It is pedantic and boring. It is preachy.

It would be alot better if you discussed tenets of leadership and tied them to your personal experiences, in a relatable way (this happened to me…I therefore learned this. I made this mistake…I learned that.). Engage the reader in a story.

Anyway, don’t let me interrupt you moral outrage…

 

[ericsauve2]

Maybe we can not dogpile the guy.

I did a quick check on the GAL, he seems to be one of us, and maybe just got off on the wrong foot here.

Thank you.

 

[ericsauve2]

You were with Royal 22nd Regiment in the late 90s. How long ago did you release from the CAF?

I served from 1992 to 2014. Since then I've been a consultant with DND.

 

[ericsauve2]

So the main criticism is that I didn't provide examples, fair enough. In order to conduct the interviews I had to convince people I would not provide names or examples so they wouldn't think they're in danger.
You want examples, boy, where do I start:

• A WO on Phase 3 infantry threatening to "pierce" us (Je vais vous percer mes tabarnaks, those were his exact words.).
• A Major in Haiti belittling his young lieutenants, ridiculing them in front of their troops for the whole tour. Two of them left the Army and one went to therapy for years.
• A CO of a Bn belittling his majors constantly, to the point that half of them started suffering panic attacks, something they'd never experience before.
• A CO of a Bn having a fist fight with a CWO in front of troops.
• a MGen harassing his staff in NDHQ constantly. One of them contacted me because he went into depression and divorced his wife.

I could go on and on but I promised not to name anyone.

The US Army recognized 10 years ago they had a toxic problem (see below). This April, CWO McCann told the brass in NDHQ that they had a toxic leadership problem in their ranks (look it up). I served 22 years for those who asked, and the last 9 years I spent as a consultant in DND, surrounded by military personnel, always working for a military boss. Do I think we have superb leaders, yes. But we also have incompetent and toxic one, all the way to Generals. And that needs to be acknowledged. I'm hammering this point because I expect change, for the future generations to come.

Army Takes On Its Own Toxic Leaders

Why have so many soldiers committed suicide in recent years? The Army is looking beyond post-traumatic stress and asking whether bad commanders and destructive leadership are taking a toll.

www.wbur.org

 

[Good2Golf]

I'm hammering this point because I expect change, for the future generations to come.

So if efforts like SHARP and OP HONOUR didn’t work, what would some of your suggestions be for addressing the ongoing challenge of toxic leadership?

 

[ericsauve2]

So if efforts like SHARP and OP HONOUR didn’t work, what would some of your suggestions be for addressing the ongoing challenge of toxic leadership?

I provided some suggestions as the end of my paper. Adding to those, I think we are not preparing our leaders for today's challenges. We do a great job at teaching skills, but not so good at taking care of human resources. I got one day only of training on resiliency before going to Afghanistan. I was never familiarized with dealing with mental health struggles, my own, and those of my subordinates. I think a lot of leaders witness toxic leadership but they turn a blind eye, because the toxic leaders delivers results. That's not thinking institutionally, and it demonstrates a lack of managerial courage.
OP HONOUR was dealing with sexual misconduct and sexual discrimination, in reaction - again - to public outcry. Do the CAF always need public outcry to react? Can't we be more proactive in training tomorrow's leaders to be tough while being decent human beings? Things are changing for good but I think more can be done.

 

[Good2Golf]

I saw your suggestion of psychometric/360 evaluation, which I agree with you. The challenge will be more noticeable where psychometry may not be enacted to filter out toxicity, and how to maintain any momentum of notable improvement once established.

 

[Rudburg]

I recommend having a look at Jim Storr's books. He has nothing good to say about authoritarianism or low intelligence in senior officers. "Authoritarians tend to be bullies...the biggest problem, however, is that they are not good commanders and may well fail catastrophically in war...in major wars, the incompetents fail first. The authoritarians and excessively self-confident go, but go later."

He has several recommendations to deal with authoritarians. One item he often emphasizes is psychological testing, which he believes is capable of identifying authoritarian personality traits. Another is to routinely test commanders with demanding exercises (CPXs, CAXs, TEWTs, etc) - eventually the authoritarians will fail under pressure.

 

[ericsauve2]

I recommend having a look at Jim Storr's books. He has nothing good to say about authoritarianism or low intelligence in senior officers. "Authoritarians tend to be bullies...the biggest problem, however, is that they are not good commanders and may well fail catastrophically in war...in major wars, the incompetents fail first. The authoritarians and excessively self-confident go, but go later."

He has several recommendations to deal with authoritarians. One item he often emphasizes is psychological testing, which he believes is capable of identifying authoritarian personality traits. Another is to routinely test commanders with demanding exercises (CPXs, CAXs, TEWTs, etc) - eventually the authoritarians will fail under pressure.

Thanks a lot Rudburg, I'm looking him up now, "Something Rotten - Land Command in the 21st Century" ?

I can also recommend the Toxic Boss Survival Guide. Funny and informative.

 

[ericsauve2]

I recommend having a look at Jim Storr's books. He has nothing good to say about authoritarianism or low intelligence in senior officers. "Authoritarians tend to be bullies...the biggest problem, however, is that they are not good commanders and may well fail catastrophically in war...in major wars, the incompetents fail first. The authoritarians and excessively self-confident go, but go later."

He has several recommendations to deal with authoritarians. One item he often emphasizes is psychological testing, which he believes is capable of identifying authoritarian personality traits. Another is to routinely test commanders with demanding exercises (CPXs, CAXs, TEWTs, etc) - eventually the authoritarians will fail under pressure.

Or is it "The Human Face of War"?

 

[Lumber]

You know you're funny when you say (only) 15 out of thousands and thousands, because I can't see how someone could possibly interview the entire CAF... I mean, I have a day job after all. But, if you think I'm the only one who believes there is toxic leadership in the CAF, I encourage you to listen to what the top CWO of the CAF had to say just last April. Forget about what Scott Taylor says and go directly to 1:40. Here's someone who's head is not buried in the sand.

None of us are denying that there is toxic leadership in the CAF. We just disagree with having a title that implies toxic leadership in the CAF, and then having an article that doesn't anywhere say "here is why I think that, here are my proof/examples, here is why I think/believe it is systemic (or not)" etc.. Hell, you never even say anywhere in the article "there is toxic leadership in the CAF"!

 

[Rudburg]

Or is it "The Human Face of War"?

"Human Face of War" and "Something Rotten" are both good choices, but the latter book is more recent and has a stronger focus on the role of senior commanders.

 

[ericsauve2]

None of us are denying that there is toxic leadership in the CAF. We just disagree with having a title that implies toxic leadership in the CAF, and then having an article that doesn't anywhere say "here is why I think that, here are my proof/examples, here is why I think/believe it is systemic (or not)" etc.. Hell, you never even say anywhere in the article "there is toxic leadership in the CAF"!

what about this? Two different military members. You're like St Thomas in the Bible, you need proof. I thought everyone could relate to toxic leadership, especially those who served. I guess I was mistaken.

 

[ericsauve2]

"Human Face of War" and "Something Rotten" are both good choices, but the latter book is more recent and has a stronger focus on the role of senior commanders.

Thanks! The Human Face of War is 378$ on Amazon, I'll go for Something Rotten!!