• AML
  • Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
The Truth at Any Cost.
Qui Tam, Compliance and Anti-Corruption News.
Whistleblower Network News
No Result
View All Result
Home Features

Whistleblowing as a Cure for Toxic Leaders and Wicked Problems

October 8, 2021
in Features
Reading Time: 4 mins read
Whistleblowing Toxic Leaders
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInEmail

This is an excerpt of the paper, “Integrity in Toxic Public Organizations: Solving Wicked Problems for Street Level Workers in Distress,” by Caroline Raat and Joop Remmé* (Adapted by Mark Worth).

Do instruments to enhance public sector integrity actually work? And if they do work, to what extent? Our focus is on “wicked problems” encountered by street-level bureaucrats in everyday situations, especially in toxic organizations. A wicked problem is one that is complex and intractable. It is a problem that only can be solved temporarily and partially – unlike ordinary problems.

In organizations led or influenced by “toxic types,” (for example, the “dark triad” of psychopaths, narcissists, Macchiavellianists), “Dirty Dozen” personality traits could be at play. These traits include manipulating people to advance one’s own interests, cheating, lying, exploiting others for personal gain, and lacking repentance or morality.

Register for National Whistleblower Day

How many toxic types are leading organizations? Research shows 1.5 percent of the general population is diagnosed as “clinically toxic,” and 10-15 percent can be characterized the same at a subclinical level. Because 4-5 percent of leaders are clinically psychopathic or narcissistic, we could estimate that up to 40 percent of leaders are subclinically toxic.

A toxic leader is focused on self-interest, and maintaining and growing power, fame and prestige. He or she knows no or little empathy or morality, and is willing to lie, intimidate and manipulate. He or she has little or no emotional empathy. Toxic leaders don’t feel another person’s pain, but they can see through and use it unscrupulously for their own ends. The psychopath knows little fear. Unlike cases that end up in prison, corporate psychopaths – also known as “snakes in suits” – have the necessary self-control that allows them to maintain their charm, charisma and power.

Employees are expected to do what the leader tells them and especially not to ask difficult questions. Loyalty is demanded one-sidedly. This is disastrous for the work atmosphere and morale. People react to this differently: some leave, do everything to survive, become numb, join in the toxic behavior, or try to raise the issue. Some become whistleblowers.

In toxic organizations, the goal has shifted from the values of the organization to retention, power, prestige and growth. The organization is non-transparent and dishonest. Mistakes are not acknowledged but covered up. There is a high risk of abuse of power in the form of favoritism, exclusion, corruption and fraud. Measures to improve the organization are professed but not really lived up to.

Employees, customers and citizens are not relevant to the organization. If they get in the way, they are “eliminated” harshly and without remorse. At the same time, many workers are coerced to commit misconduct. According to a survey by the largest Dutch trade union (FNV), 15 percent of the national government’s civil servants say they are improperly pressured – especially from superiors – to behave improperly. One-fifth of employees knows a colleague who has been pressured.

A whistleblower system can serve as a way to prevent the escalation of problems. Overt whistleblowing can be used to alert the public of crime and corruption. But it would be better to see it as a way of preventing escalation by reporting a problem in its early stages – within the organization. Toxic leaders, however, likely will not choose to make the best use of internal reporting systems. They consider employees who report problems as “traitors,” and as a risk to their own position. Toxic leaders are inclined to do everything they can to track down and eliminate anonymous reporters, as we have seen in the infamous Dutch Ministry of Justice’s “Research Centre Affair.”

Toxic individuals exist and so do toxic public and private organizations. A toxic leader cannot become an ethical leader, and a toxic organization is not capable of change without external intervention. Internal whistleblowing systems and other methods such as codes of conduct are not strong enough, at legally enforceable levels. This fact has a negative impact on the moral quality of decisions, behavior and policy making at every level.

Stronger protection of whistleblowers, external reporting channels and structured decision-making systems can help enhance the internal morality of organizations, along with more drastic measures as letting go toxic leaders.

* Caroline Raat (PhD, LLM, MA) is an author, researcher, educator, consultant and practitioner in the fields of whistleblowing, quality of law and organizational behavior. Her publications have been about power, administrative law, freedom of information, and integrity. Joop Remmé (PhD) has taught about ethics, strategy and human resources management in MBA programs, and has consulted on management development and ethics. His publications have been about corporate social responsibility/ethics and stakeholder management. Both authors are affiliated with the Platform of Independent Researchers.

Previous Post

Whistleblower Alleges Payment Fraud at ATF, Claims He Experienced Whistleblower Retaliation

Next Post

Pandora Papers Show Need for Global Anti-Corruption Whistleblowers

Next Post
Pandora Papers Whistleblower

Pandora Papers Show Need for Global Anti-Corruption Whistleblowers

Receive Daily Alerts

Subscribe to receive daily breaking news and legislative developments sent to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most Popular

Advocates Detail Need for SEC Whistleblower Reform

Raytheon Whistleblower Receives $1.5 Million for Alleging Cybersecurity Non-Compliance

Ruling Striking Down Trump Order Targeting Law Firm Seen as Crucial for Whistleblowers

MJH Healthcare Settles Whistleblower Allegations of Postal Rate Fraud for $2 Million

Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Stronger Whistleblower Laws in Australia, Mirroring Polling in US

Four Whistleblowers Receive $1.3 Million for Alleging Genetic Testing Fraud Scheme

Whistleblower Poll

Whistleblower Poll
Whistleblower Poll

Exclusive Marist Poll: Overwhelming Public Support Among Likely Voters For Increased Whistleblower Protections

byGeoff Schweller
October 6, 2020

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

STAY INFORMED.
Subscribe to receive breaking whistleblower updates.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Careers

Subscribe

  • Daily Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • YouTube Channel

Contribute

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Reprint Guidelines

Your Experience

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Help

  • Rules for Whistleblowers
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Advertise
Whistleblower Network News

Whistleblower Network News is an independent online newspaper providing our readers with up-to-date information on whistleblowing. Our goal is to be the best source of information on important qui tam, anti-corruption, compliance, and whistleblower law developments. 

Submit an Article

Copyright © 2025, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

This Newspaper/Web Site is made available by the publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Newspaper/Web Site publisher. The Newspaper/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

Become a Whistleblower Network News Subscriber

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Subscribe to WNN

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Subscribe to WNN
RSVP to National Whistleblower Day 2025! July 30, 2025 on Capitol Hill
RSVP NOW

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Exclusives
  • Government
    • False Claims-Qui Tam
    • Federal Employees
    • Intelligence
  • Corporate
    • CFTC & Commodities
    • Dodd-Frank
    • IRS & Tax
    • SEC & Securities
  • Features
  • Legislation
  • International
    • Foreign Corruption
  • Rewards
  • Whistleblower of the Week
  • Environment & Climate
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Employment
    • Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblowers
    • Retaliation
    • OSHA
  • Make National Whistleblower Day Permanent
  • Media
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • National Whistleblower Day
  • Whistleblower Poll
  • Whistleblower Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Resources for Locating An Attorney
    • The New Whistleblowers Handbook

Copyright © 2024, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version