Toxic behavior is on the rise in public safety organizations, businesses, politics, and churches, to name a few. The word intoxicating covers both ends of the spectrum from feeling exhilarated to feeling physically and mentally impaired. Faced with unprecedented circumstances, there is a need to better understand leader/follower interdependence when destructive leaders are at the helm making harmful decisions. Here, toxic followership is defined as the manipulation of individuals by a trusted party who transforms the mindset of others, whereby individuals become an extension of a toxic leaders' moral decay.
There is a myth that the Jonestown tragedy is a distant episode in history that can only happen in certain environments with people unlike oneself. The survivor's stories are reminders that without understanding the framework of toxic followership, the unsuspecting targets are prey, available for consumption by a leader with liquidated morals. Hear the pleas from family members of innocent African Americans who have been killed by those who are sworn by law to serve and protect citizens. It is the never-ending pain of checking the news feed on your cell phone only to recognize another lost opportunity for courage to supersede a leaders' oppressive conduct.
This book is for those who desire to gain insight into the leader/follower dynamic in order to serve others by unmasking the dangers of toxic followership, provide prevention suggestions, and reveal followers' power, even in desperate situations.
