Every year, I enjoy watching TV shows and movies about the holiday season. It’s a tradition I started with my kids when they were young and continue to this day either by myself or when they arrive for the holidays. Some of my favorites include, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, “It’s a Wonderful Life” and even “Die Hard.” I also like to watch the animated “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” but this year, I decided to also watch the 2000 live version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” with Jim Carrey. The animated version is my favorite, as I’ve read the book to my kids several times when they were young and even tried to imitate Boris Karloff at times. As I was watching it, I saw several parallels to toxic leadership that I’ve been writing and speaking about lately. There are 4 points about the similarities to the Grinch and a toxic leader that I would like to share with you.
First, there’s no denying that the Grinch is a toxic leader. He is upset with the Whos celebrating something he hates.
“Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot
But the Grinch who lived just North of Whoville did not!”
The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.”
If he didn’t like it, he felt no one else should. That’s typical toxic leader behavior. If they don’t like something or someone gets in the way of their agenda, they will do anything they can to overcome them.
Look at how he treats poor Max, his dog. He couldn’t find a reindeer to help him with his treacherous plan, so he enlisted Max, to unwillingly imitate a reindeer and pull his sleigh down the mountain and back up to dump the bags he stole. A task Max was really not cut out for.
“All I need is a reindeer.” The Grinch looked around.
But since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found.
Did that stop the Grinch? Hah! The Grinch simply said,
“If I can’t find a reindeer, I’ll make one instead!”
So he took his dog Max, and he took some black thread.
And he tied a big horn on top of his head.”
Second, a toxic leader will destroy whatever is in their way to accomplish their agenda. If that means destroying the people that work for them, then that’s just collateral damage.
When the Grinch gets to Whoville, he “slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, Around the whole room, and he took every present!”
The presents weren’t his only target.
“Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Whos’ feast!
He took the Who pudding! He took the roast beast!
He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash.
Why, that Grinch even took the last can of Who hash!”
His goal was to remove anything that he thought might remind the Whos of Christmas, including the log for the fire.
“Then he went up the chimney himself, the old liar.
And the last thing he took was the log for their fire.
On their walls he left nothing but hooks and some wire.
And the one speck of food that he left in the house
Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse.”
He took everything to accomplish his goal, even items that were not necessary like their food and decorations off the wall. If you’ve worked for a toxic leader before, you recognize this behavior. Nothing is left unturned when they are trying to reach their goal.
Third, the Grinch knows how to manage or manipulate others to fulfill their agenda. Toxic leaders usually survive because they know how to manage up. In the Grinch’s case, he knew how to manipulate little Cindy-Lou Who and say the right things when he encountered her on one of his stops (thefts).
“As the Grinch took the tree, as he started to shove,
He heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.
He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who!
Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was no more than two.
She stared at the Grinch and said, “Santy Claus, why,
Why are you taking our Christmas tree? Why?”
But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick,
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
“Why, my sweet little tot,” the fake Santy Claus lied,
“There’s a light on this tree that won’t light on one side.
So I’m taking it home to my workshop, my dear.
I’ll fix it up there, then I’ll bring it back here.
And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head,
And he got her a drink, and he sent her to bed.”
If he had told the truth, Cindy-Lou might have alerted her family to what was happening. He made up a lie to comfort her and sent her to bed. Toxic leaders know how to manage their bosses to make sure they don’t interfere with how they manage or abuse their team.
Lastly, some toxic leaders can be reformed. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. We’ve seen it on some of our projects where we identified toxic leaders using our data- focused, anonymous, multi-rater assessments. A year later the toxic leader we discovered became a top contributor due to some focused coaching and seeing how they were perceived by their peers.
After the Grinch returned to the top of Mount Crumpet to dump all the Christmas goods he stole, he expected to hear the gnashing and boo-hoos from the Whos without any Christmas trappings.
“He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.
Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!
And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say
That the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day!
And then the true meaning of Christmas came through,
And the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches, plus two!”
The Whos welcomed the reformed toxic Grinch when he returned all the Christmas items and was even given the opportunity to carve the roast beast at their dinner.
It doesn’t always work out this way with toxic leaders. Some will never change, but with the right coaching, and being opening to change, there is a chance. Every organization has at least 1 toxic leader. The more employees you have, the more toxic leaders you have. With estimates of 5 to 8 times a toxic leader’s salary, the cost of doing nothing with a toxic leader can be very expensive. Don’t let them steal your 2026 profits.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
All verses are the property of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P.
