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If 1 per cent of the population are clinical psychopaths, as the researchers tell us, that means you are probably working with, or have worked with, someone who fits the definition or whose bad behaviour is close to that benchmark. Indeed, one study in 2010 found there are about three times as many people with psychopathy per capita in senior management positions than in the general population.
“Business leaders with psychopathic traits tormented others around them, in many cases prompting them to leave. But their impact was broader than this. They poisoned the culture of their workplaces, eroding ethical standards and sowing fear and mistrust. For a variety of reasons, they caused their colleagues to mimic their behaviour and callously seek to dominate others as well,” Leanne ten Brinke, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia and director of its Truth and Trust Lab, writes in Poisonous People.
Psychopathic traits, she adds, are a toxic influence on society, accounting for a disproportionate share of the pain and suffering we experience both individually and collectively.
She discounts trying to spot them as folklore claims through facial behaviour, eye movements or fidgeting. Instead, focus on verbal cues – the words they use when communicating.
Pay attention to how detailed a person’s statements are – liars tend to be terse – and whether the statements can be verified. Questions can throw psychopaths off stride because they often prepare meticulously.
Also, how consistent is what they say? She gives as an example the coworker who claims to have graduated from a certain university yet, when you ask about the small town where that university is located, they appear not to have ever heard of it.
A big question when you have to deal regularly with a psychopath is whether to stay or go (or if overseeing them, whether to kick them out). She offers these hard truths:
- Felling conflicted is normal: People often regard loyalty toward others as a core value, one that can trump other ideals such as honesty. Saying goodbye to a bad boss might also leave you unable to pay your bills or make landing a new job harder. “Given how attuned we are to maintaining relationships, it’s no surprise that the prospect of leaving would unsettle us a little. We’re not wired to break up with important people in our lives,” she notes.
- Dark personalities persist: Poisonous people aren’t likely to change much. They are difficult to treat – assuming they are seeking help. Waiting it out is likely to be painful.
- Staying only gets harder: Some people believe they can’t abandon a malevolent boss because they have too much invested in the relationship. Instead of getting hung up on that sunk cost fallacy, she recommends seeing those wasted resources as tuition paid to learn how to avoid poisonous people in the future and reminders of the future costs that will likely arise if you stay.
- Your commitment doesn’t guarantee their improvement: Poisonous people like to claim they are the victims and other people are the liars, poor decision-makers or source of all problems. “Dark personalities not only talk a good game in order to wheedle their way into our boardrooms and bedrooms; they specifically target those of us whom they perceive to be emotionally vulnerable,” she warns.
- You probably aren’t the only one suffering: Executives and board members may worry that firing someone with psychopathic traits might disrupt their teams or organizations, especially if those leaders happen to be strong performers. But that boss is treating people poorly and some are heading for the exits, so you must act.
If you decide to stay, make sure to establish clear boundaries. “Specify in no uncertain terms what’s allowed in the relationship and what’s not,” she says.
Don’t hand them power over others. Use the carrot of rewards for good behaviour rather than the stick when dealing with them, because she says psychopaths are impervious to punishments and won’t change their behaviour to avoid penalties.
And finally, good luck.
Quick hits
- Don’t let negative feedback throw you for a loop, career coach Jenny Wood advises in her newsletter. Apply her burn-learn-churn approach: Burn what’s not useful; learn from what is; make changes quickly and move on.
- To make your work more enjoyable, productivity writer Laura Vanderkam recommends allocating one more hour a week to your favourite work activity, modestly changing the balance of how your time is spent. Another tip to boost enjoyment: Carve out more time for lunches, coffee breaks or happy hours with friends at work.
- “What is the most important conversation you are currently postponing,” asks author James Clear?
Harvey Schachter is a Kingston-based writer specializing in management issues. He, along with Sheelagh Whittaker, former CEO of both EDS Canada and Cancom, are the authors of When Harvey Didn’t Meet Sheelagh: Emails on Leadership.