The Menace of Toxic Leadership in School Organisations

A number of studies have been dedicated to underseeing the various kind of positive leadership in schools and neglected the toxic aspects of school leadership which is important to identify the behaviours of school leaders who intentionally and unknowingly inflict enduring damage on their subordinates and school organisation. At present, it seems there is little for public school leaders to learn in terms of the types of behaviours that should be discouraged in the schools among the school leaders. This work is a position paper highlighting the havoc of toxic leadership in the school organisations. Therefore, this work focuses on toxic leadership in school organisations, viz: toxic dimensions, issues revolve around toxic triangle, and coping strategies for teachers with toxic school leaders. Leadership toxicity in school organisation has a negative impact on the school setting and the teachers’ psychological well-being. Toxic leadership exist in every organisation, including school. In addition, recommendations include school teachers should be exposed to professional development training and opportunities particularly in leadership before placement for leadership positions, as leadership preparation and training are central to school effectiveness and school improvement and qualified consultants, that is, personnel specialists with expertise in organisational leadership should be engaged during the search and selection process of school leaders so as to detect toxic leaders in waiting.

Keywords: Toxic Leadership, School Organisation, Coping Strategies, Toxic Triangle,