Power and incivility in academic leadership: A multilevel framework for understanding organizational toxicity

Abstract

Workplace incivility, a subtle yet pervasive violation of respect norms, has emerged as a defining feature of toxic organizational cultures with significant consequences for well-being, performance, and retention. Academic institutions provide a distinctive context for understanding incivility's persistence, given decentralized governance, tenure protections, and reward systems that privilege individual achievement over collegiality. This qualitative study draws on interviews with thirteen academic leaders from Canadian business schools to examine the antecedents and mechanisms through which incivility emerges, is experienced, and becomes entrenched. Findings revealed that incivility is sustained through interconnected dynamics across individual, team, organizational, and systemic levels, with power asymmetries serving as the central driver. The Power-Asymmetry Incivility Model developed in this study illustrates how deficits in self-awareness, limited leadership capacity, organizational structures and expectations, alongside entrenched cultural norms, interact to normalize toxic behaviors. The analysis highlights that incivility in academia is a structural and cultural phenomenon requiring coordinated interventions. Implications include the need for context-specific leadership training, reforms to accountability mechanisms, and the alignment of reward structures with values of collegiality and respect.