Manipulation Masquerading as Leadership: The Dangers of Directive Questioning and Silo Creation

My husband says that art imitates life and every week, I meet someone that shares something with me that gives me pause as a leader! To set the stage for this article, let me introduce Directive Questioning! This leadership technique involves asking questions that, while appearing open-ended, are actually aimed at enforcing the leader's agenda. Wait, it gets worse! In a recent situation that I was made aware of, the complexity intensifies when leaders also engage in behaviors like selectively including only certain team members in key discussions and gaslighting others to control perceptions and narratives.

Directive questioning, when misused, can subtly cultivate a toxic work environment. Recalling a book I read years ago, I am reminded of a constant lack of trust in the workplace. Stephen M. R. Covey’s "Circle of Trust" stresses the importance of trust and integrity, but these foundational elements can be eroded under such leadership strategies. The creation of silos within a team due to directive questioning leads to a fragmented and dysfunctional workplace. Leaders might isolate team members who challenge their views, effectively reducing diversity of thought and potential opposition. Those in the leader's inner circle often become champions of the leader’s agenda, sometimes to the extent of unabashedly praising decisions regardless of their impact.

Such selective inclusion can lead to a form of gaslighting where team members excluded from the inner circle doubt their own perceptions and contributions. They receive mixed signals about their value and the truthfulness of their observations, leading to:

1. Silos and Cliques: The leader’s inner circle becomes a visible clique, demoralizing other team members and degrading overall collaboration across the organization.

2. Distortion of Reality: Gaslighting creates a distorted workplace reality. Team members not in the loop may begin to question their own understanding of projects and strategic directions, eroding confidence and trust in organizational leadership.

3. Toxic Culture: Individuals within the favored group may emulate manipulative tactics, believing these methods are both acceptable and successful for achieving personal or professional goals. This exacerbates the toxicity in the work environment by fostering further divisions and underhanded tactics among employees.

4. Decreased Innovation and Adaptability: Organizational silos limit the free flow of information and ideas, severely hindering the organization’s capacity for innovation and adaptation to new challenges.

To mitigate these issues and steer towards a healthier organizational culture, leaders should:

• Promote Transparency and Inclusivity:
• Cultivate a Culture of Honesty and Respect:
• Educate on and Discourage Manipulative Tactics:

By confronting these challenges head-on and committing to a leadership style that values transparency, inclusivity, and respect, leaders can begin to repair the trust and collaboration necessary for a thriving organizational culture.

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