A correlational study on the link between destructive-constructive leadership and moral disengagement of followers

The link between destructive leadership and moral disengagement is addressed in this study. Destructive leadership can be defined as the ‘systematic and repeated behavior by a leader, supervisor or manager that violates the legitimate interest of the organization by undermining and/or sabotaging the organization’s goals, tasks, resources, and effectiveness and/or the motivation, wellbeing or job satisfaction of subordinates’ (Einarsen et al., 2007, p. 208). Various forms of destructive leadership exist, such as tyrannical, derailed, supportive-disloyal and laissez-faire behaviors (see the Destructive-Constructive model of Leadership, DCL; Einarsen et al., 2007). Fiske (2004) clarified the construct of moral disengagement as the process of convincing the self that ethical standards do not apply to oneself in a particular context. When moral reactions are separated from inhumane conduct the mechanism of self-condemnation can be disabled, that in turn may lead to moral disengagement. Many studies demonstrated various negative outcomes of destructive leadership, such as lower levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, self-rated and leader-rated job performance, and higher level of intention to quit, aggression towards co-workers and counterproductive behaviors (Tepper, 2007). Evidence of an existing connection between moral disengagement and harassment in the workplace already emerged (Claybourn, 2011). Few, if any, studies have thus far explored the interconnections between destructive leadership and moral disengagement, applying established inventories.