Psychology of Leaders and Leadership, Vol 29(1), May 2026, 1-25; doi:10.1037/mgr0000176
Although research largely demonstrates that toxic leadership harms both organizations and employees, how subordinates effectively cope with toxic supervisors remains overlooked. Using conservation of resources, we theorize that employees high in Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) should report better outcomes under toxic supervision than other employees because they experience less resource depletion. By estimating latent interaction effects, we indeed found evidence that employees’ Dark Triad traits buffer against the harmful effects of toxic supervision. Specifically, all three Dark Triad traits enhanced employees’ resilience under toxic supervision by increasing their well-being, promotion rate, and leader–member exchange compared to subordinates low in those traits. By contrast, these traits did not prevent employees from developing turnover intentions or feeling psychological distress when reporting to toxic leaders. These findings have important implications for theory, research, and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)