Toxic Leadership Published July 10, 2014 By Tech. Sgt. Caridad Ibarra Mendoza 13th Intelligence Squadron BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- "He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader."--Aristotle There are many definitions of leadership. A leader in my book is someone who has self-awareness, self-direction, vision, ability to motivate, and social awareness. However, as great as some leaders may seem some can be toxic and you may not notice. The misconduct and abuse of authority or just blatantly disregard for rules and regulations of our Air Force helps stimulate and promote toxic leaders. Toxic leaders not only exist in the Air Force but in every organization. They are found from the front line supervisors to commanding officers. As Airmen leaders, we need to confront and recognize toxic leadership because it undermines the "leader - follower" relationship. It undermines good order and discipline, corrupts the climate of a unit, and disregards our core values, rules and regulations that define us as Airmen. These individuals manage to promote above those who truly deserve it and at times they seem to be rewarded for their bad behavior. This causes negative effects across their organization and can propagate to the next generation of leaders. Some leaders appear effective because tasks are completed on time but in reality they are corrupting the mission and unit cohesion. Toxic leaders will always exist and it is our responsibility to not look the other way. This can be accomplished by confronting the person directly, documenting their actions, and seeking guidance from your chain of command or outside agencies. Confrontation is something most people tend to avoid due to fear of reprisal, especially when dealing with someone in your chain of command. Ultimately, we want to mentor and offer our airmen an organization that promotes a healthy working environment and that is sincere when we say we have an "open door policy."