Human Resource Development Review
2015, Vol. 14(1) 64–90
© The Author(s) 2015
Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1534484314552437
hrd.sagepub.com
Integrative Literature Reviews
Skunked: An Integrative
Review Exploring the
Consequences of the
Dysfunctional Leader
and Implications for
Those Employees Who
Work for Them
Kevin Rose
1
, Brad Shuck
1
, Devon Twyford
1
,
and Matt Bergman
1
Abstract
Dysfunctional leaders are described in the research literature as those leaders who
consistently place burdensome structures in the path of progress, intentionally or
unintentionally violate psychological contracts, and generally treat their employees
with a disrespectful approach. Research suggests that upward of 13% to 36%
of employees in the United States work with a leader whose approach could be
described as dysfunctional. Yet, research regarding this negative organizational
phenomenon is surprisingly limited. Moreover, scholarship in the field of human
resource development (HRD) is nearly void of research on this topic. The purpose
of this integrative literature review was to examine the literature on dysfunctional
leadership and to highlight conceptual links present across various streams of
scholarship. Specifically, we systematically categorized the dysfunctional behaviors
that leaders exhibit, highlighted the short- and long-term effects of working under a
dysfunctional leader as well as documented the known strategies for working through
the effects of dysfunction.
Keywords
leadership, dysfunction, human resource development
1
University of Louisville, KY, USA
Corresponding Author:
Kevin Rose, College of Education, University of Louisville, Rm. 336, Louisville, KY 40292, USA.
Email: kevin.rose@louisville.edu
552437HRD XX X 10.1177/1534484314552437Human Resource Development ReviewRose et al.
h-article 2015
by guest on April 6, 2016 hrd.sagepub.com Downloaded from