#73 - Dysfunctional senior leadership...the hidden impact!
6 Aug 25
A dysfunctional senior leadership team can quietly poison an organisation from the top down. When leaders at the highest level fail to work cohesively, the ripple effects undermine trust, derail strategy, and erode performance throughout the organisation.
This issue is rarely caused by lack of skill. It’s usually rooted in interpersonal dynamics, misaligned priorities or unaddressed conflict.
The good news: with the right diagnosis and intervention, dysfunction can be reversed!
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#73 - Dysfunctional senior leadership...the hidden impact!
What?
A senior leadership team is meant to be the strategic brain and cultural compass of an organisation.
Dysfunction occurs when this group:
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Operates in silos instead of collaborating,
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Avoids difficult conversations, letting unresolved issues fester,
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Competes internally for resources, recognition or influence,
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Suffers from misaligned priorities, with leaders pulling in different directions,
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Displays inconsistent leadership behaviours, sending mixed messages to staff.
This isn’t always visible to the wider workforce in its raw form. But the symptoms show up clearly in the way the rest of the organisation behaves.
Why?
Root Causes often include:
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Ego and power struggles – Personal agendas overshadow collective responsibility,
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Lack of trust – Leaders don’t feel safe being vulnerable or honest,
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Poor role clarity – Unclear decision-making authority leads to confusion and duplication,
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Underdeveloped conflict skills – Disagreements become personal instead of productive.
Consequences on the wider organisation:
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Strategic drift – Without alignment at the top, direction becomes muddled,
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Cultural erosion – Dysfunction trickles down, normalising poor collaboration,
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Low engagement – Employees sense inconsistency and disengage from leadership,
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Talent drain – High performers leave when they lose confidence in leadership.
When the top team is misfiring, the rest of the organisation inevitably underperforms regardless of individual brilliance lower down.
How?
When you’re not part of the senior leadership team but can see the dysfunction, it’s a tricky balance. You have influence but not control. The aim is to protect your team, maintain your own credibility, and (where possible) nudge the organisation in a healthier direction.
1. Control your circle
You may not be able to fix the leadership team, but you can create stability and clarity within your own remit. Be consistent, transparent, and dependable for your people even if that consistency is lacking above you.
2. Translate and filter
If messages from the top are inconsistent or conflicting, work to interpret them in a way that makes sense for your team. Remove unnecessary noise and focus on what your people can act on.
3. Build lateral alliances
If dysfunction is slowing decisions or creating roadblocks, form strong working relationships with peers across the organisation. Lateral collaboration can bypass some of the bottlenecks created at the top.
4. Manage upwards strategically
Provide constructive feedback to senior leaders when possible framed in terms of organisational impact, not personal criticism. Present solutions alongside problems to avoid sounding like a complainer.
5. Protect morale and culture locally
Actively reinforce positive behaviours within your team: recognition, fairness and clear expectations. This helps shield your people from the broader cultural erosion that dysfunction at the top can cause.
6. Document and evidence impact
If senior dysfunction is affecting delivery, keep a clear record of how and where it’s impacting outcomes. This makes it easier to escalate issues credibly if needed and protects you if results are questioned.
7. Choose your battles
Not every hill is worth dying on. Save your energy for the issues that directly impact your team’s wellbeing or the organisation’s core objectives.
In Summary
A dysfunctional senior leadership team creates ripples that reach far beyond the boardroom. Even if you’re not part of that group, the effects can show up in unclear direction, shifting priorities and weakened organisational trust.
You may not be able to 'fix' the problem from your position, but you can control how it impacts your people. By providing clarity, protecting morale, building strong peer networks, and managing upwards with tact, you can shield your team from much of the fallout. You may even be able to influence small shifts in the right direction.
In times of leadership dysfunction, your steadiness becomes a source of stability others will rely on!
Have a great week!
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