Any technique of gaining power can be devious if practiced in the extreme. A person who displays loyalty to a boss by feeding him or her insider information that could affect the price of company stock is being devious. Some approaches are unequivocally unethical. In the long run, they erode a leader’s effectiveness by lowering credibility.

Devious tactics might even result in lawsuits against the leader, the organization, or both. The ancient strategy of “embrace or demolish” suggests that you remove from the premises rivals who suffered past hurts through your efforts; otherwise, the wounded rivals might retaliate at a vulnerable moment. This kind of strategy is common after a hostile takeover; many executives lose their jobs because they opposed the takeover.

The object of a setup is to place a person in a position where he or she will either fail outright or look ineffective. An executive whom the CEO dislikes might be given responsibility for a troubled division whose market is rapidly collapsing. Also referred to as turf wars, territorial games involve protecting and hoarding resources that give one power, such as information, relationships, and decision-making authority. An advanced devious tactic for a manager is to pretend a catastrophe exists and then proceed to “rescue” others from the catastrophe, thereby appearing to be a superhero.

The political player rushes in and declares that everything is a mess and the situation is almost hopeless; shortly thereafter, he or she resolves the problem. Abusing power might be conceptualized as an unethical political tactic because the abuse often relates to behavior outside of formal responsibility. Political abuse of power includes such acts as shouting and swearing at subordinates, sexually harassing them, and humiliating them in meetings.