THE OUTER LIMITS OF TOXIC LEADERSHIP

This chapter discusses an unusual case. The consultation with Elija Engineering Ltd. morphed into leadership coaching and psychotherapy with the exalted leader of the Research and Development Division, Josh Julia. Under Julia the Elija Engineering company prospered as it expanded its reach into European and Asian markets. Julia's rising star gradually began to falter. Numerous reports came in respectfully inquiring as to the baffling, odd behavior of their leader and as to why he was increasingly absent and managing from a distance via his cell phone and email. Patience gradually gave way to impatience as world-class Japanese clients would not accept any substitute for their beloved Julia and Elija Engineers become increasingly dysfunctional and began to drift without his presence. As will be revealed, the enigma of Julia escalated to the point of my appearance as the external expert. The findings were totally unexpected and represented a first in my consulting work. The fate of Elija Engineering was in the hands of their wildly successful chief R&D engineer. The company CEO was in dire straits during our first meeting. Perhaps shell-shocked is the appropriate phrase to describe how he and many of the engineers felt about the “Julia situation.” Was there any rhyme or reason behind Julia's incredibly strange and troublesome behavior?