When the Darkness Consolidates: Collective Dark Triad Leadership and the Ethics Mirage

This research explores how coalitions of leaders who score high in the Dark Triad traits—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—rebuild moral architectures in organizations to consolidate power, suppress dissent, and secure their rule. Contrary to work that has focused predominantly on individual toxic leaders, this research examines the collective processes that emerge when multiple high-DT-scoring leaders coalesce and unify their moral leadership front. Adopting a qualitative, article-based document analysis methodology, this study synthesizes and critiques evidence from 55 peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025. Thematic analysis identified three fundamental dynamics through which Dark Triad leaders collectively exercise dominance. The first, the Ethics Cartel, involves the construction of a shared moral façade that legitimates power and shields wrongdoing. The second, Mutual Cover, outlines forms of mutual protection in which leaders shield one another from accountability and scrutiny. The third, Cultural Capture, outlines processes through which organizational culture is increasingly reconfigured such that “ethics” are structured to favor leadership over employees or wider stakeholders. This study illustrates how these coalitions cross over into individual transgressions, creating systemic risk that warps the fabric of organizational culture. Employees are confronted with a work culture that positions ethics as a means of developing survival adaptive mechanisms, such as silence, withdrawal, or compliance. These processes not only harm psychological safety and break trust but also disable accountability mechanisms established to maintain integrity. This study contributes to the study of leadership and organizational ethics by framing ethics not as merely an individual moral stance but as a collective instrument of power. It calls for more attention to the risks that follow collaboration among toxic leaders and for governance arrangements that address the organizational and systemic consequences of these unions. By situating these findings within the broader debate on power, people, and performance, this paper aligns with the focus of the Special Issue “Power, People, and Performance: Rethinking Organizational Leadership and Management” by showing how collective Dark Triad leadership distorts organizational performance outcomes while reshaping power relations in ways that undermine people’s trust and well-being. These insights extend Alowais & Suliman’s findings, highlighting the systemic feedback loops sustaining ethical distortion.