When Leadership Goes Wrong Destructive Leadership, Mistakes

In this review of When Leadership Goes Wrong, readers will find a careful, research-driven examination of how leaders can cause harm, intentionally or unintentionally. The book is best for academics, HR professionals, and senior managers seeking a deeper understanding of destructive leadership and ethical failures rather than quick fixes. Its main appeal is the breadth of international scholarship gathered to challenge idealized leadership models and to offer concrete frameworks for recognizing and researching harmful leader behaviors.

Key Features

• International scholarship: Chapters come from contributors in several countries, broadening the perspective beyond a single cultural context and making comparisons possible.
• Coverage of dark side topics: The book systematically addresses narcissistic and destructive leadership, which helps readers identify varied manifestations of harmful leadership.
• Focus on mistakes and ethics: By including ethical failures and leader errors, the text links psychological and moral dimensions to leadership outcomes.
• Research-oriented approach: The contribution format presents empirical and theoretical work useful for scholars and graduate students designing future studies.
• Practical implications: Although academic, the book draws out practical implications for leadership development, HR policy, and organizational risk assessment.
• Conceptual reframing: The volume challenges romanticized views of leadership, encouraging more realistic and useful models for practice and research.

Who It's For

This collection is most useful for researchers in leadership studies, graduate students, consultants, and HR leaders who need a rigorous treatment of destructive leadership and its organizational consequences. It supports literature reviews, course reading lists, and policy development aimed at preventing ethical failures.

Practitioners seeking step-by-step toolkits or a light introduction to leadership should look elsewhere; this volume is scholarly in tone and assumes some familiarity with leadership theory and research methods.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Comprehensive scholarly perspectives that expand the field beyond positive leadership narratives.
• Addresses a wide range of issues including narcissism, destructive behaviors, and ethical lapses.
• Useful for building research agendas and informing HR and governance discussions.

Cons

• Academic style and format may feel dense to readers seeking practical, quick-reference guidance.

Specifications

Title	When Leadership Goes Wrong Destructive Leadership, Mistakes, and Ethical Failures
Authors / Editors	Birgit Schyns, Tiffany Hansbrough
Subject	Destructive leadership, ethical failure, leadership mistakes
Audience	Researchers, graduate students, HR professionals
Content style	Edited scholarly contributions from multiple countries
Key topics	Narcissistic leadership, ethical leadership, leader errors

Our Verdict

When Leadership Goes Wrong is a thoughtful, well curated scholarly volume that fills a gap in leadership studies by foregrounding destructive leadership and ethical failures. It is a strong purchase for academics and practitioners who need depth and comparative perspectives, offering good value as a reference and teaching resource despite its dense, academic presentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this book practical for HR policy makers?
Yes, it draws practical implications for HR and governance, though the treatment is research oriented rather than a how-to manual.

Does the book focus only on intentional harm?
No, chapters consider both intentional destructive leadership and unintentional leader errors that produce ethical failures.

Who are the contributors?
Scholars from several different countries contribute, offering international perspectives on leadership problems.