Performance may mask character: bright and ambitious executives tend to be protected even when clear signs of abuse, manipulation, and unethics are already present.
There is a common belief in the corporate world: the greatest risk for a company comes from outside. From the economy, from the competitor, from the press, from the authorities. All of this is real. But in practice, the most lethal risk usually occurs within the organization itself — and often presents itself in an elegant, articulate and seductive way.
He speaks well.
It delivers spectacular results.
He's charismatic.
It's admired.
And hardly anyone suspects it.
I want to delve into a recurring theme in my analyses here: The brilliant, ambitious executive, but of a dubious nature, capable of destroying an entire organization from the inside.
In the traditional mob, the boss never blindly trusts the overly brilliant subordinate. He observes, listens, controls. He knows that the overambitious may just be waiting for the right moment to take the place of the one above.
In Brazilian companies, this rarely happens.
An organization can be born ethical, transparent, well-intentioned. Enough, however, a single intelligent and unethical senior executive to transform everything into a toxic environment. And Brazil, culturally, has fertile ground for this:
Command those who can, obey those who have judgment.
When a boss manipulates, humiliates, intimidates, or embarrasses - and everyone realizes that he has the support of senior management - no one reacts. Some lower their heads. Others resign. Hardly anyone faces it.
The paradox is simple and cruel:
the more talented the executive, the greater his capacity for manipulation.
He silences the honest ones.
It promotes sycophants.
It builds false loyalties.
It creates a theater of power.
Gradually, the true command ceases to be in the organization chart and begins to operate backstage. Decisions are contaminated, information is filtered, conflicts are stimulated. Company culture changes without anyone realizing exactly when.
The problem worsens even more when family or corporate relationships are involved. A toxic executive can play brother against brother, son against father, partner against partner. It feeds mistrust, creates narratives, divides to govern.
There is also the emotional manipulation.
If the manager is a man, he can use charm, veiled seduction, or silent intimidation.
If you're a woman, you can explore admiration, vanity, enchantment, emotional dependence.
The mechanism changes, but the result is the same: the company loses control of itself.
This type of executive acts like a cancer. Metastasis begins discreetly, almost invisible. Then it spreads through relationships, through strategic decisions, through culture. By the time the signs become apparent, the damage is already profound.
And here's the hardest part to accept:
there is no gradual treatment for this type of problem.
The only real solution is Surgical:
fast, accurate, discreet removal.
Integral professionals need to be protected and encouraged. Growth may slow down. Profits, momentarily lower. But the company becomes sustainable, healthy and respectable.
A good place to work.
A good place to decide.
A good place to spend most of life's waking hours.
Companies rarely fail solely because of external factors. Many rot from the inside, protecting toxic talent in the name of short-term results.
Identifying this risk requires coolness, courage, and independence.
Ignoring it is expensive — sometimes everything.
If you suspect that your organization's greatest danger isn't out there, it might be time to look inside.
And, above all, to act before silence becomes complicity.
Solutions for Organizations Under Threat
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