Leadership style is a critical element in organizational climate that influences how group members perceive and perform in an organization. Leadership style is a risk factor that impacts many group and individual outcomes such as group cohesion and effectiveness. In the Department of War (DOW), leadership has been measured by the Defense Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS), a tool for commanders and leaders to assess the climate of their unit or organization. The DEOCS assesses protective and risk factors associated with six strategic target outcomes. The outcomes of interest are: (1) racial/ethnic harassment/discrimination, (2) readiness, (3) retention, (4) sexual assault, (5) sexual harassment, and (6) suicide. Among the risk factors assessed by the DEOCS is leadership style, one of which is passive leadership. Passive leadership, also known as laissez-faire leadership, is characterized by a leader’s absence and avoidance of responsibility, which may result in failure to respond to problems, make decisions, and be present when needed. The purpose of this literature review is to summarize the many potential impacts of passive leadership within the military. Studies exploring passive leadership’s impact on civilian organizations, like businesses and health care organizations, are included in this review due to the currently limited research in military settings. Additionally, understanding passive leadership in civilian organizations provides important insight as military organizations often have similar characteristics, like defined hierarchies and highly collaborative work. In this review, passive leadership’s negative impacts are grouped into five categories. The first category is “Subordinate Experience,” which includes negative impacts such as burnout, decreased organizational commitment, and lower job satisfaction. The second category, “Interpersonal Relationships Within an Organization,” includes negative impacts such as decreased information sharing, interpersonal conflict (including bullying and sexual harassment), and lower group cohesion. The third category, “Work Impacts,” includes negative impacts on group performance. The fourth category, “Wellness Impacts” includes negative impacts such as increased rates of stress, anxiety, and other physical symptoms. The final category is “Safety,” which includes negative impacts such as lower safety compliance. In addition, negative impacts identified in this review were found to overlap with the DEOCS’ risk/protective factors and strategic target outcomes. Recommendations to address passive leadership among organizational leaders include training that aims to increase a leader’s ability to communicate effectively, foster subordinate engagement, and protect subordinates from overbearing or ambiguous roles. Recommendations found for employees include training that encourages employees to resist uncivil behavior they encounter at work, detach from work stress to prevent work-to-family conflict, and share knowledge with co-workers and supervisors when experiencing passive leadership. Understanding passive leadership and its broad, negative impacts is critical for the military as many of these impacts align with outcomes identified as strategically important to the DOW, as they are specifically targeted in the DEOCS.