Crimes of Character? A Holistic Approach to Dark Triad Traits and Toxic Leadership at the Workplace

Toxic leaders are universally unwanted. Such leaders are often characterized by scoring high on the
Dark Triad, consisting of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Research shows that toxic
leaders not only negatively impact their direct subordinates' well-being, but also decrease their job
performance. When toxic leaders reach the top of the organizational ladder and become CEOs, they
can even decrease firm performance, with the effect trickling down from top management to
employees. Despite the significant negative impact of the Dark Triad on employees and
organizations, to date, it is not known how to deal with toxic leadership. This leaves human resource
departments navigating in the dark. The lack of practical approaches is in part due to the majority of
research taking a static approach to personality, even though recent findings show that dark
personality traits can vary not only between but also within individuals. Thus, the project aims to
provide a holistic perspective on the Dark Triad, considering leaders' bright side characteristics,
environmental features that might trigger or dampen leaders' dark side, and the impact of
interpersonal relations. By taking a dynamic approach to the Dark Triad, this project makes a
meaningful contribution to the field, proposing the first theory-driven actions for organizations in the
form of a practical tool, the Shadow Compass.