Have you seen passion turn into all-out competitiveness at work, where a win-at-all-cost philosophy spreads? Winning over circumstances is one thing; winning over challengers or rivals is another. This culture often originates with a dominator leader, bent on defeating those who stand in their way, and can debilitate—or even destroy—a company. Emotionality leads to poor judgment, irrational decisions and potentially devastating outcomes.
I’ve been writing about the four key personality dimensions described by Ron Warren, PhD, in Personality at Work: The Drivers and Derailers of Leadership (McGraw-Hill Education, 2017). Of these four (social intelligence, deference, dominance and grit), dominance has the greatest potential to impede organizational effectiveness. While passion, decisiveness and drive have benefits, the inflexibility and overbearing nature of the dominator leader is extremely harmful.
Recognizing the Dominator Leader
Recognizing the dominator leader is not difficult, unless you’re the dominator. Self-centered by nature, dominant leaders need to control everyone and everything around them. Intrinsically hostile, they are resentful and prone to feeling persecuted. Employees won’t tolerate poor treatment, nor should they. A rise in turnover may signal that a dominant leader is on the loose.
Dominant personalities are also rigid, stubborn and always want to be right. Once their minds are made up, they generally won’t budge. When challenged, they argue and try to shut people down. People find them to be insufferable and won’t put up with them for long. These leaders make business matters personal, exhibiting an opinionated, pushy or authoritarian style.
When this topic comes up with my coaching clients, we talk about the effects of dominance: it’s the fastest way to defeat your staff and drive them away. Behavior must be addressed before consequences become irreparable. Training and coaching can help maintain leadership drive and zeal, while keeping ego-driven excesses in check.
The Good News
I know that dominant leaders can learn to let their people breathe, function, share ideas and talk openly. Counseling aimed at increasing flexibility, agreeableness and accountability has benefited many dominant leaders. Anger management training may be another option.
Dominance is certainly a challenging behavior, but leaders have more control over it than they think. Valued colleagues or a professional coach can help with ongoing feedback and reformative exercises. With guidance, dominant leaders can depersonalize issues and refrain from feeling attacked. Once they value unity as a vehicle for success, they’ll be motivated to monitor the self-sabotaging behaviors that inhibit it.
What do you think? What have been your experiences with a dominator leader? You can call me at 561-582-6060, let’s talk. And as always, I can be reached here or on LinkedIn.
