2.2.11 Toxic Leadership Scale (TLS)

Purpose 

Developed to identify potential toxic leadership behaviors, the TLS assesses five key dimensions of toxic leadership: abusive supervision, authoritarian leadership, narcissism, self-promotion, and unpredictability (Schmidt, 2008, 2014). The test is typically taken by leaders, managers, supervisors, and individuals in positions of authority. This scale has been used in various sectors such as military, corporate, organizational psychology, and leadership development. Results have been used to improve organizational culture and enhance employee well-being and performance.

Description

The TLS was developed first by Schmidt (2008). It uses a Likert-type scale with statements related to the five dimensions of toxic leadership. Participants rate their agreement or frequency of observed behaviors on a 5-point scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

This instrument was highly reliable in the first study conducted by Schmidt (2008). Each of the five dimensions of toxic leadership scored above 0.88 using Cronbach’s alpha test. The scale scored above 0.79 in a study by Schmidt (2014). Celikera and Guzeller (2023) tested the scale in the healthcare sector in Turkey. In terms of validity, the five dimensions scored an average of α equivalent to 0.94.

It is worth noting that toxic leadership is a highly controversial topic, and assessing toxicity in the work environment has sometimes had controversial results (Rasool et al., 2021). Scholars are advised to use robust methodologies and not rely exclusively on self-report surveys to effectively study toxic leadership.

Access

Schmidt’s original thesis is available at this link: https://www.proquest.com/docview/193655997. It may also be accessible via academic journals and research databases, including in the relevant articles listed in the references section. Prior to usage, permission from the authors or copyright holders may be necessary. Contact the authors directly or consult the articles for more information on the availability and permissions.

References

Celiker, N., & Guzeller, C. O. (2023). Toxic Leadership Scale Development in Hospitality Sector and Scale Item-Bias Analysis. Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2023.2253998

Rasool, S. F., Wang, M., Tang, M., Saeed, A., & Iqbal, J. (2021). How toxic workplace environment affects employee engagement: The mediating role of organizational support and employee wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2294. https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fijerph18052294

Schmidt, A. A. (2008). Development and validation of the toxic leadership scale (Publication No. 1453699) [Master’s thesis, University of Maryland]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. https://www.proquest.com/docview/193655997.

Schmidt, A. A. (2014). An examination of toxic leadership, job outcomes, and the impact of military deployment (Publication No. 3627674) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. https://www.proquest.com/openview/c705263bc297a210ec24c9237166b617/1