Turkish Adaptation of Toxic Leadership Scale: Validity and Reliability Study

Öz

One of the most referenced and generally accepted scales used in the literature to measure the perception of 'toxic leadership' is the Toxic Leadership Scale prepared by Schmidt. In Schmidt’s scale, it was assumed that the toxic leader had five characteristics: abusive, authoritarianism, narcissism, self-promotion, and unpredictability, and a 30-item scale was created to measure these five factors. In our study, the scale prepared by Schmidt was adapted into Turkish. The questions prepared with the obtained scale were applied to 676 people in two separate samples, 392 public sector employees and 284 private sector employees. As a result of all reliability and validity analyses the Toxic Leadership Scale was adapted into Turkish and could be used as a measurement tool.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Leadership
• Toxic Leadership
• Scale Adaptation

Etik Beyan

The Research Ethics Committee of Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University reviewed and approved study E-20292139-050.01.04-9473 under the basic ethical standards for research involving humans outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki at its meeting numbered 2021/06 (July 06, 2021). Informed consent was acquired for every participant in the study.

Toksik Liderlik Ölçeğinin Türkçe Uyarlaması: Geçerlilik ve Güvenirlik Çalışması

Öz

2000’li yıllardan itibaren literatüre giren toksik liderlik kavramının ölçülmesinde kullanılan ölçeklerde en çok referans verilenlerinden bir tanesi Schmidt, (2008) tarafından hazırlanan Toksik Liderlik Ölçeğidir. Ölçekte toksik liderin istismarcılık, otoriterlik, narsizm, kendini ön plana çıkarma ve öngörülebilirlik olmak üzere 5 özelliği olduğu belirtilmiş ve bu beş faktörü ölçmek üzere 30 maddelik bir ölçek oluşturulmuştur. Elde edilen ölçek ile hazırlanan sorular 392 kişilik kamu ve 284 kişilik özel sektör çalışanı olmak üzere toplam 676 kişiye uygulanmıştır. Yapılan tüm geçerlilik ve güvenilirlik analizleri sonucunda, Toksik liderlik ölçeğinin Türkçe’ye uyarlanmasının sağlandığı ve bir ölçme aracı olarak kullanabileceği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Liderlik
• Toksik Liderlik
• Ölçek Uyarlama

Kaynakça

1. Akça, M. (2017). The Impact of Toxic Leadership on Intention to Leave of Employees. International Journal of Economy, Business and Management Research, 1, 285–298.
2. Akinyele, A. I. & Chen, Z. (2025) Dark clouds of leadership: causes and consequences of toxic leadership, International Studies of Management & Organization, 55:4, 476-503, DOI: 10.1080/00208825.2024.2442185
3. Aubrey, D. (2012). The Effect of Toxic Leadership. https://doi.org/10.21236/ada560645
4. Bakkal E., Serener, B., & Myrvang NA. (2019). Toxic Leadership and Turnover Intention: Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction. Revista de Cercetare şi Intervenţie Socială, 66, 88-102. https://doi.org/10.33788/rcis.66.6
5. Bakkal, E. & Aydıntuğ, N. (2016). The Effect of Toxic Leadership on Healthcare Organizations. Journal of Academic Social Science Studies, 519-522. https://doi.org/10.9761/JASSS3332
6. Börü, D.E., Çakarel, T.Y., Ufacık O.E., & Arslan, G. (2020). The Effect of Toxic Leadership on Organizational Cynicism: A Study in The Automotive Industry. İktisadi İdari ve Siyasal Araştırmalar Dergisi, 12, 194–216.
7. Box, CJE. (2012). Toxic Leadership in The Military Profession. United States Army War College
8. Brislin, R.W., Lonner, W.J., & Thorndike, R.M. (1973). Cross- Cultural Research Methods, New York: John Wiley & Sons Pub.

9. Büyüköztürk, S. (2007). Sosyal Bilimler Için Veri Analizi El Kitabı. Ankara: Pegem A Yayıncılık
10. Çakıroğlu, C. and Ünver, T. (2023) Toxic Leadership, Mental Well-Being and Work Engagement among Nurses: A Scale Adaptation Study and Structural Equation Model Approach. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 38, 49-69.
11. Çelebi, N., Güner, H., & Yıldız V. (2015) Development of the Toxic Leadership Scale. Bartın Universitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 4(1), 249–250.
12. Chou, W.-J., Sibley, C. G., Liu, J. H., Lin, T.-T., & Cheng, B.-S. (2015). Paternalistic leadership profiles: A person-centered approach. Group & Organization Management, 40(5), 685–710. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601115573358
13. Demir, B. (2019). The Relationship between Toxic Leadership Perception and Organizational Silence, Emotional Commitment, and Task Performance. Beykent University.
14. DeVellis, R.F. (1991). Scale Development: Theory and Applications, Newbury Park, CA: Sage
15. Di Genio, J. (2002). The Toxic Boss. Armed Forces Comptroller
16. Dobbs, J. M., & Do, J. J. (2018). The Impact of Perceived Toxic Leadership on Cynicism in Officer Candidates. Armed Forces & Society, 45(1), 3-26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X17747204
17. Einarsen, S., Aasland, M.S., & Skogstad, A. (2007). Destructive Leadership Behavior: A Definition and Conceptual Model. The Leadership Quarterly, 18(3), 207–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2007.03.002
18. Elle, SA. (2012). Breaking The Toxic Leadership Paradigm in The US Army. United States Army War College
19. Ertürk, R. (2016). Work Motivation of Teachers. Journal of Education Theory and Practice Research, 2, 1–15.
20. Flynn, G. (1999). Stop Toxic Managers Before They Stop You!. Workforce, 78(8), 4-40.
21. Green, J. (2014). Toxic Leadership in Educational Organizations. Education Leadership Review, 15(1),18-33
22. Gürbüz, S., & Şahin, F. (2016). Sosyal Bilimlerde Araştırma Yöntemleri: Felsefe-Yöntem-Analiz, 3. Ed., Ankara: Seçkin Yayıncılık
23. Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., & Anderson, R.E. (2010). Multivariate Data Analysis, 7. Ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall.
24. https://doi.org/10.1108/jhom-10-2022-0291
25. İskit, B. (2019). A Look at The Dark Side of Leadership, The Concept of Toxic Leadership and The Effects of Toxic Leadership on Employee Motivation and Attitudes. SSRN Electronic Journal Kocaeli University
26. Kim, J. (2016). 8 Traits of Toxic Leadership to Avoid. In Psychology Today, 6–8. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/culture-shrink/201607/8-traits-toxic-leadership-avoid
27. Macklem, K. (2005). The Toxic Workplace. Maclean’s, 118, 34-35.
28. McAnulla, SD. (2011). Post-Political Poisons? Evaluating the 'Toxic' Dimensions of Tony Blair's Leadership. Representation, 47 (3), 251-263.
29. Meydan, C.H., & Şeşen, H. (2011). Yapısal Eşitlik Modellemesi AMOS Uygulamaları, Ankara: Detay Yayıncılık
30. Miles, RE., Snow, CC., Meyer, AD., & Coleman, HJ. (1978). Organizational strategy, Structure, and Process Organizational Strategy, Structure, and Process. The Academy of Management Review, 311532(3), 546–562. http://www.jstor.org/stable/257544
31. Milosevic, I., Maric, S., & Lončar, D. (2020). Defeating The Toxic Boss: The Nature of Toxic Leadership and The Role of Followers. Journal of Leader and Organizational Studies, 27(2), 117–137, https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051819833374
32. O'Hara, T. (2015). Toxic Leadership. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118785317.weom110028
33. Özer, O., Ugurluoğlu, O., Kahraman, G., & Avcı, K. (2017). A Study on Toxic Leadership Perceptions of Healthcare Workers. Global Business and Management Research: An International Journal, 9(1).
34. Rosenthal, S.A., & Pittinsky, T.L. (2006). Narcissistic Leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 617–633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.005
35. Saran, U. (2004). Kamu Yönetiminde Yeniden Yapılanma: Kalite Odaklı Bir Yaklaşım. Ankara: Atlas Yayıncılık
36. Schmidt A.A. (2015). An Examination of Toxic Leadership, Job Outcomes, and The Impact of Military Deployment. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering.
37. Schmidt, A.A. (2008). Development and Validation of The Toxic Leadership Scale. University of Maryland.
38. Shenk ML. (2012). Transformational Followership and Reducing Toxic Leadership in The US Army. In Power.
39. Steele JP. (2011). Antecedents and Consequences of Toxic Leadership in The Us Army: A Two Year Review and Recommended Solutions. The Center for Army Leadership, 10(6), 2–42.
40. Ulmer WF. (2012). Toxic Leadership in The Army. Army Magazine, June, 47–52.
41. Uysal, H.T. (2019). The Mediation Role of Toxic Leadership in The Effect of Job Stress on Job Satisfaction. International Journal of Business, 24(1), 55-73
42. Watt, SR., Javidi, M., & Normore, AH. (2016). Increasing Darkness: Combining Toxic Leadership and Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA). Advances in Educational Administration. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-366020160000026015
43. Webster, V., Brough, P., & Daly K. (2016). Fight, Flight or Freeze: Common Responses for Follower Coping with Toxic Leadership. Stress and Health, 32(4), 346–354. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2626
44. Wilson, D. (2014). Toxic Leaders and The Social Environments That Breed Them. In Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/darwinatwork/2014/01/10/toxic-leaders-and-the-social-environments-that-breed-them/#6d218797dac5
45. Wilson-Starks, K.Y. (2003). Toxic Leadership. https://transleadership.com/wp-content/uploads/ToxicLeadership.pdf. (Reach: 24.07.2021).
46. Yazıcı, S. (2001). Learning Organizations. Istanbul: Alfa Publications
47. Zaabi, H. H. A., Elanain, H. M. A., & Ajmal, M. M. (2018). Impact of Toxic Leadership on Work Outcomes: An Empirical Study of Public Banks in the UAE. International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, 4(3), 373-392.