Includes bibliographical references (p. [245]-270) and index.

Webs of significance -- Claiming the bad side -- Reasons for being bad -- Making meaning of being bad -- Incompetent : Juan Antonio Samaranch, Abdurrahman Wahid, Jill Barad -- Rigid : Mary Meeker, Robert Haas, Sumner Redstone, Vladimir Putin -- Intemperate : Marion Barry, Jr., Gary Hart and Jesse Jackson, James Bakker and Henry Lyons, William Bennett -- Callous : Al Dunlap, Rudolph Giuliani, Leona Helmsley, Howell Raines -- Corrupt : William Aramony, Vincent (Buddy) Cianci, Jr., Mario Villanueva, Andrew Fastow -- Insular : Bill Clinton, Lee Raymond, James W. Johnston -- Evil : Radovan Karadzic, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Jim Jones and David Koresh -- From bad to better -- Costs and benefits -- Comments and corrections.

"Bad Leadership argues that it's time to embrace a more honest, holistic view of leadership that acknowledges the dark side of human nature and its impact on leaders and followers alike. In a departure from conventional thinking, Barbara Kellerman contends that bad leadership is not an aberration, but a ubiquitous and insidious part of everyday life that must be carefully examined and better understood." "Kellerman identifies two fundamental categories of bad leadership - ineffective and unethical - and highlights the seven types of bad leadership that are the most prevalent: incompetent, rigid, intemperate, callous, corrupt, insular, and evil. Through absorbing examples of high-profile contemporary figures from business and politics, Kellerman helps us to understand how and why particular leaders went bad, how their followers aided and abetted the process, and what lessons these stories hold for how bad leadership can be stopped or slowed."--BOOK JACKET.