Psychopaths are not nice people.
They lack empathy and remorse, are egocentric and prone to abusive treatment of others. The really bad news is that one in 25 bosses meets those criteria, according to a study by researchers from the Universities of North Texas and British Columbia. Paul Babiak, Craig Neumann and Robert Hare were able to get personality information on 203 professionals who had been selected by their companies either as ‘high potentials’ or for leadership development.
They were deemed to have the skills that could eventually set them up to be senior managers within their companies. Over a period of two years these people were interviewed, their performance reviews were studied, and feedback was provided by the people who reported to them.
The findings
- 4% of managers qualified as psychopaths (compared with just 0,2% of the general population)
- The potential for ‘possible’ psychopathy was much higher
- Psychopaths can and do get ahead. Of the nine people with the highest scores for psychopathy, seven were already managers.
Why is there more psychopathy in the corporate world?
Lack of realistic life goals, say the researchers, when couched in business language, can be misinterpreted as strategic thinking, a highly valued executive talent. Even traits that reflect a severe lack of feelings (lack of remorse, guilt, empathy) can be put into service by corporate psychopaths, where being ‘tough’ or ‘strong’(making hard, unpopular decisions) or ‘cool under fire’ (not displaying emotions in unpleasant circumstances) can work in their favour.
In fact, the very skills that make the psychopath so unpleasant and even abusive in society can facilitate a career in business. The researchers suggest this is testament to their superior communication skills and their ability to manipulate decision makers. So be careful out there.
Identifying the dangerous ones
The group shared several traits that distinguished them from their colleagues.
- Psychopaths had very high ratings on communication, strategic thinking and creative abilities
- They had been reprimanded for poor management style, failing to act as team players, and had poor performance reviews. Despite this, they still managed to get selected as ‘high potential’ performers.
