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The purpose of this paper is to examine whether self‐defeating behaviors are correlated with leader derailment, and to compare self‐defeating behaviors to the previously identified derailment theme “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships”.

Deans at AACSB International‐accredited business schools were surveyed about “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships” and self‐defeating behaviors (SDBs) that one to two of their derailed direct reports may have portrayed. SDBs were analyzed for their strength of association with derailment and compared to the derailment theme “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships.”

Results indicated that SDBs are multi‐dimensional and those behaviors that involve interaction with others were significantly associated with leader derailment. Further, the results suggest that SDBs were significantly more indicative of derailment than were “Problems with Interpersonal Relationships”.

The small sample size may limit the ability to generalize the results of the study. Further, the lack of a comparison group of non‐derailed leaders does not rule out the possibility that they may also exhibit SDBs.

As the baby‐boomer generation leaves the workforce over the coming years, the demand for competent leadership will increase dramatically. Companies need to understand the underlying causes of derailment and take appropriate steps to minimize its impact.

Previous research on self‐defeating behaviors has focused on an individual's potential to derail. This study is unique in that it links SDBs to practicing leaders and relies on supervisor ratings (rather than self‐reports) of SDBs.

In this chapter Suzanne Ross draws on her experience previously as a talent manager and now as a leadership consultant, Executive Coach and Senior Lecturer in Executive Education, and applies her research on leadership derailment to talent management. As organizations continue to invest in leadership development, research suggests up to 50 per cent of leaders derail or fail in their role. The derailment literature is, to-date, disconnected from TM although central to the definition of leadership derailment is that derailed leaders were previously successful and had potential. The chapter explores the concept of derailment, how it is defined, its scale and scope and some of the causes of derailment including a lack of organizational support during leadership transitions. The notion of the ‘accidental manager’ is used to provide an example of where literature on TM and derailment converge as a key derailer characteristic is having an overly functional orientation. This maps to the accidental manager concept and to the challenges that TM practitioners face in developing career pathways for expert/specialists beyond managerial roles. Suzanne argues that talent identification should take more account of derailment characteristics and suggests there may be gender differences in how these are perceived and in the consequences that arise when they are present. The chapter contributes to a greater understanding of how the concept of derailment can be integrated within talent management research and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to propose the value of more widely incorporating derailment factors into talent management practices in order to effectively develop and engage talent.

The paper considers various approaches to understanding derailment in the context of leadership talent. It draws on a combination of literature, early doctoral research and practitioner experience in talent management and leadership development, to present a viewpoint on the merits for talent management practitioners of using an understanding of derailment to broaden talent development practices.

It is suggested that by understanding the nature of derailment and incorporating this understanding into talent management practices, a more balanced and robust approach to talent development is achieved. Only focussing on core talents without identifying potential derailment tendencies and creating strategies at either the individual or organisational level to mitigate these, can leave leaders vulnerable to derailment as they advance their leadership careers.

Prevalent within organisational talent management practices is a single minded focus on definitions of talent, without considering aspects of derailment as a matter of course. This paper encourages talent management practitioners to proactively consider aspects of derailment in order to generate a multi‐dimensional approach to understanding talent, therefore more effectively prioritising talent development needs and engagement strategies.

This paper aimed to examine the relationship between 360° assessment of leadership derailment factors and leadership effectiveness, differences across position levels, and impact of self‐other agreement.

The data were from an archive of 360° feedback (N=523). Boss ratings of leadership effectiveness were regressed on leadership derailment factors as rated by other rater sources (e.g. peers and direct reports). Polynomial regressions were conducted to examine the impact of self‐other agreement.

As hypothesized, derailment factors had statistically significant negative correlations with leadership effectiveness. Higher‐level managers were rated higher on derailment factors than lower‐level managers. In‐agreement high ratings of derailment factors (i.e. rated high by both self and others) were associated with lower effectiveness than in‐agreement low ratings (i.e. rated low by both self and others). Self under‐ratings of derailment factors (i.e. self ratings lower than others’ ratings) were related to lower effectiveness than self over‐ratings (i.e. self ratings higher than others’ ratings). It also was found that self ratings were less accurate than ratings from other rater sources.

Leadership derailment induces significant direct as well as indirect costs to organizations. The 360° feedback process can be used to help managers enhance their self‐awareness of derailment potential. Findings of this study can be used to help interpret 360° assessment results.

Past research on 360° feedback has focused primarily on positive leadership characteristics. This study represents one of the few in the literature that empirically has examined the assessment of negative leadership characteristics in 360° feedback.

The actions of school leaders have direct and profound ethical implications on their organizations and corresponding stakeholders. Each action impacts the ethical notion of mutuality and either adds to or detracts from the existing social capital in the school leader’s organization and surrounding school community. Whether or not the school leader chooses to act out of self‐interest and contribute to the growth of fragmentation in the organization or chooses to act with integrity based on sound ethical principles is determined in large extent by the school leader’s character.

This paper examines the relationship among leadership skills, management skills and individual success and failure in formal organizations.

A model is presented depicting the interactive relationship among the three variables and explaining why some high potential employees suffer derailment while other individuals with similar skills continue to develop and achieve organizational success.

The model indicates that there is not one combination of management and leadership skills related to individual success.

Developmental activities should be ongoing regardless of the individual's level in the organization.

This paper synthesizes several streams of research into a coherent model that can be used as a guide for leadership development activities.

The common notion that leaders should be ethical, good, responsible and trustworthy has been strongly challenged in the fields of business and politics worldwide. Due to the high prevalence of unethical leadership by immediate supervisors and decline in trust in leaders (Cowart, Gilley, Avery, Barber, & Gilley, 2014), scholars started to pay closer attention to the dark sides and destructive aspects of leadership. Many different concepts are suggested to define the dark side of leadership, and each of them captures similar but distinct dimensions. In this vein, Einarsen and colleagues' (2007) constructive and destructive leadership model serves as an umbrella concept for different types of dark sides of leadership, covering concepts which have been studied separately such as abusive supervision, tyrannical leadership, petty tyranny, toxic leadership and leader derailment. The present chapter aims to provide a summary of the definitions of these interrelated constructs to acknowledge some other leadership (e.g., paternalistic leadership, pseudo-transformational leadership) and personality styles (e.g., Machiavellianism, narcissism) that have not been considered in this framework and to provide suggestions for future research.

The role of dark side personality characteristics in the workplace has received increasing attention in the organizational sciences and from leadership researchers in particular. We provide a review of this area, mapping out the key frameworks for assessing the dark side. We pay particular attention to the roles that the dark side plays in leadership processes and career dynamics, with special attention given to destructive leadership. Further, we examine the role that stress plays in the emergence of leaders and how the dark side plays into that process. We additionally provide discussion of the possible roles that leaders can play in producing stress experiences for their followers. We finally illustrate a dynamic model of the interplay of dark leadership, social relationships, and stress in managerial derailment. Throughout, we emphasize a functionalist account of these personality characteristics, placing particular focus on the motives and emotional capabilities of the individuals under discussion.

Organization development is focused on implementing a planned process of positive humanistic change in organizations through the use of social science theory, action research, and data-based feedback methods. The role of personality in that change process, however, has historically been ignored or relegated to a limited set of interventions. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a conceptual overview of the linkages between personality and OD, discuss the current state of personality in the field including key trends in talent management, and offer a new multi-level framework for conceptualizing applications of personality for different types of OD efforts. The chapter concludes with implications for research and practice.