Costs and Benefits: Why We Need to Study Bad Leadership

Most books that examine leadership do so from the perspective that true leaders are good and ethical leaders, with little or no attention paid to bad leaders. With the costs of bad leadership being so high, ignoring its existence, and allowing it to continue, is a disservice to everyone involved. And focusing on leaders and shortchanging the role of followers, when the two should be looked at in tandem, only makes matters worse.