The Cost of Toxic Management: Why Dinosaurs Don't Belong in Leadership

I’ve been fortunate to work with some excellent managers—leaders who inspire, support, and elevate those around them. But I’ve also seen the opposite: talented, hardworking people utterly demotivated and ground into dust by toxic management. Nowhere is this more evident than in industries like construction and mining, where the ‘old boys’ network’ still clings on with grim determination. If you’re not in the club, forget it. Worse still, this club often harbours misogyny, racism, and an outdated, insular mindset that strangles potential and profitability in equal measure.

It’s baffling. How can companies that pride themselves on efficiency and productivity tolerate managers who, through sheer dinosaurism, drive away talent and demoralise their workforce? Recently, I had the misfortune to interact with a prime example of toxic leadership—a man so lacking in vision, emotional intelligence, and basic decency that it made me wonder: are the board members blind to this massive vulnerability in their organisation? Or are they simply looking in the mirror?

The Business Case Against Toxicity

Leadership is about influence, not control. Great leaders empower their teams. Toxic ones breed fear, resentment, and disengagement. The data is clear:

• A Gallup study found that 50% of employees leave their job because of a bad manager, not because of the work itself.
• Companies with highly engaged teams are 21% more profitable than those with disengaged employees (Gallup, again).
• McKinsey research shows that companies with diverse leadership teams outperform their less diverse peers by 35%.

And yet, in some sectors, we still have leaders who belong in a museum rather than a boardroom. Their mindset is: “I suffered to get here, so you must too.” Their leadership style? A toxic mix of arrogance, cronyism, and outdated machismo. This isn’t just a social issue—it’s an economic one. A bad manager is a direct threat to an organisation’s bottom line.

What Great Leaders Have Always Known

History’s best leaders—whether in the military, industry, or politics—knew that leadership is about service, not status. Let’s take a few lessons from those who actually knew what they were doing:

“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.” – Colin Powell

A toxic manager is not a leader. They are an organisational liability. The best leaders create environments where people feel safe to innovate, ask questions, and challenge outdated ideas. When employees are afraid to speak up, companies stagnate.

“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” – Ralph Nader

A true leader nurtures talent, rather than crushing it. They look beyond ‘the club’ and recognise ability where it exists, not just in those who fit a narrow, outdated mould.

“You don’t lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Micromanagement, bullying, and exclusionary tactics don’t inspire loyalty or performance. They create compliance at best and open resentment at worst. Either way, the result is mediocrity.

The Wake-Up Call for Boards

The most frustrating thing is that many boards seem oblivious to the rot within their ranks. Or worse, they turn a blind eye. Perhaps some genuinely believe that a ‘tough’ (read: toxic) management style is effective. Others may fear rocking the boat. But what they fail to see is that this boat is already sinking.

So here’s the challenge: If you sit on a board, ask yourself—how much untapped potential is being lost because of outdated, toxic leadership? How many brilliant ideas never get voiced because the culture silences them? How many talented people have walked away, taking their skills, experience, and energy to a competitor?

The companies that thrive in the next decade will be the ones that replace the dinosaurs with real leaders—those who understand that respect, inclusion, and integrity aren’t ‘nice-to-haves’; they are business essentials.

It’s time to evolve. Because the thing about dinosaurs? They’re extinct for a reason.