Binita is the Director of Business Development at an international investment bank. Her company has recently been taken over by a US-based listed bank that specializes in developing financially engineered products known as Collateral Debt Obligations or CDOs. Her Australian clients are not too familiar with these products, and she has been tasked to expand their uptake in the Australian market in certain key segments. To date, she has been very successful in her role, and she has an excellent relationship with her clients who have come to respect her for her integrity and honesty. As she becomes more and more familiar with the management and operational processes of the new parent company, she is starting to question some of the behavior of senior management, and in particular, her CEO whom she reports directly to. Specifically, she comes to the realization that the CEO is not acting in the interests of the company’s clients, but rather in the interests of the company’s bottom-line. More and more she is witnessing results being achieved through immoral conduct and practices that are highly unethical, although on the surface they appear otherwise. 

Questions: 

1. To what extent is Binita witnessing destructive leadership behavior on the part of members of the senior leadership group and specifically the CEO? What evidence would you cite to support your answer? 

2. As a member of the senior leadership group how do you believe she should react to what she is witnessing? 

3. Under what circumstances would you NOT classify the behavior of the CEO as destructive leadership?