Got a bad boss or toxic leader in your life?  Do you work for a supervisor whose approach is, "My way or the highway?" Toxic leadership is hard to live with, but with a little patience and ingenuity, you can do more than just survive.

Having the ability to look through the smoke and glass of our titles and roles can really clarify our own vision. I call this getting "naked" as a leader. This means avoiding the most common errors in leading people, such as not showing them respect, being excessively bottom-line oriented and putting people in the dog house when they don't live up to expectations.

Some managers are controlling because they are afraid of not surviving. Fear drives them to want to avoid such feelings by tightening their grip on their world, including people who report to them, but acting out of fear is always self-defeating.