A toxic leader is a person who has responsibility for a group of people or an organization, and who abuses the leader–follower relationship by leaving the group or organization in a worse condition than when they first found them. The phrase dates back at least to 1972.Marcia Lynn Whicker popularized the label "toxic leader" in 1996;it has become linked with a number of dysfunctional leadership styles. The leadership style of toxic leaders is both personally self-destructive and ultimately corporately harmful - as they subvert and destroy organizational structures.