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Now that the dynamics of leader-follower relationships and the personality of leaders have been addressed, two critical questions need to be answered. The first, how can we keep toxic leaders from gaining power? The second, how can we develop effective and, in Jon Stokes’ term, inspiring leaders who promote progressive human development rather than division, oppression, and regression?
Recognizing toxic narcissists before they gain power can be difficult. Some of them, like Napoleon Bonaparte, start out as innovators and liberators and only become toxic later. In contrast, some narcissists, like Steve Jobs, start out as exploitative and abusive, but learn to partner with others and accept coaching.
The men who designed the American Constitution believed, like Alexander Hamilton, that “it is not safe to trust to the virtue of any people.” Hamilton added, “we must take man as we find him” (Ricks, 2020, p. 206). This includes potentialities for virtue, but also for all the deadly sins. Hamilton and James Madison, writing in The Federalist Papers, argued that while people might follow a toxic leader, protections were needed to limit their power.
They and the other founders designed a constitution with built-in protections against a leader who threatened individual liberty. These protections – the separation of powers, the law-making Congress, and Courts – limiting presidential authority, were tested when Donald Trump tried to annul the election that ended his presidency and was stopped by the courts.
But as Mauricio Cortina writes, although creating and expanding democratic institutions has been a major accomplishment, there is no guarantee they will survive. Right wing, illiberal, authoritarian leaders have gained the support of millions throughout the world. Democratic institutions are based not only on structures but also intangibles, involving internalized social norms, what Alexis de Tocqueville termed “habits of the heart.”
The human vulnerability to toxic leaders call