Evil leaders and cynics at UQ Business School

Research examining evil leaders and why people love them will be among the topics explored at the UQ Business School’s colloquium tomorrow (Friday, June 10).

Just days before her PhD examination, Marie Dasborough said her research showed that followers respond to leaders differently depending on their perceptions of the leader`s charisma.

“People see charismatic leaders through rose-coloured glasses. Even when these leaders perform negative behaviours, people may still view them positively and support these behaviours,” Ms Dasborough said.

“As well as explaining why people like Hitler can succeed, the research is also useful in understanding how some corporate leaders can appear to get away with almost anything,” she said.

“Recent corporate collapses show how dangerous this ‘romance of leadership’ effect can be.”

At the other end of the scale is research suggesting that cynicism doesn’t entirely deserve its bad reputation.

PhD student Gareth Simpson said cynicism was usually thought to be a damaging phenomenon for organisations but there was an alternative view.

“Cynicism and other defence mechanisms adopted to help people cope with the negative aspects of change may, in fact, lead to positive outcomes for employees and organizations,” Mr Simpson said.

Close to 40 UQ Business School students will gather at the UQ Business School Downtown, 19th Floor, Central Plaza One, 345 Queen St, Brisbane, on Friday to unveil their research ideas and detail their progress and results to date.

Enrolled in PhD, Masters, and Honours programs, and double degrees, the annual event gives students the opportunity to enhance their presentation skills, participate in multi-disciplinary academic discussion, and develop peer and mentor networks.

Media: Cathy Stacey, Marketing Development Manager, (07 3365 6179, 0438 339 538, c.stacey@business.uq.edu.au)