Today we are talking about psychopaths and sociopaths. Not the type that Hollywood loves to portray complete with scary music and blood soaked knives, and not the ones sitting in our jails. We are going to look at possibly the least known group – the ones who inhabit suburbia and the corporate world.
For the two decades I was in Human Resources, and now in my own business, my experience of most people has been generally positive. I believe that the majority of people are essentially honest, decent human beings who do the best they can.
But every now and again I bump up against someone who sees the world very differently than I do. Not in the introvert/extrovert sort of difference, but in a way that I couldn't describe.
Recently I was talking with a good friend about some past clients and associates that puzzled me, and she said, "Have you ever looked up the term sociopath?"
Way back when I did my Psychology degree, the terms psychopath and sociopath were mentioned in passing during a lecture, but very little focus was put on them. The current jargon is the term Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) as listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV). While the term psychopath, sociopath and APD all have different clinical definitions, for the purpose of this article I will just use the popular term psychopath.
Current research now has psychopaths at sitting between 1 – 4% of the general population. This figure jumps when you look at people in jail (15-20%) and senior executives (3.5% from one study). That is higher than the current estimated figures for ADHD ... and yet not much is said outside the hallowed walls of psychology and psychiatry.
So what is it and why should you care?
Psychopaths & sociopaths have a personality disorder that colours how they see and interact with the world. Their approach can easily be mistaken for strong or charismatic leadership, but the damage they create in organisations and individuals is extreme.
They can divide teams, create massive turnover and turmoil, and inflict psychological damage on their victims. They are often the ones involved in corporate fraud, scams and bullying cases. And in business, they are usually the clients or customers who default on debts.
In other words, it pays to try and spot them and avoid them, before you or your organisation becomes prey to one.
Have a talent for "reading people" and sizing them up quickly. They can easily spot a person's likes, dislikes, motives, hot buttons, weak spots and vulnerabilities. They have no qualms about using this information to achieve their own goals.
Excellent oral communication skills. Confident aggressive delivery style with a lack of substance beneath the words. They often have a very charming, engaging manner.
Masters of impression management. They are chameleons and change their personas to match the situation and the game plan.
Lie with impunity. They tell tales so confidently and theatrically that generally they are believed. If caught in a lie, they are not embarrassed, they just reorganise the storyline into a new story.
Have no practical long-term career or life goals, but they weave a very impressive story about their career history (which is generally full of lies). They often have a number of grand schemes on the go at any given time.
Are quite often very intelligent, "well bred" and physically attractive. They have a slight air of mystery, and can be known for a "predatory stare and empty eyes".
See people as only as valuable as their contacts, money, information, influence, power or what they can do for the psychopath. Once the victim has no more value, they are discarded. If a person is not seen to have value, they are ignored or treated rudely.
Are motivated by winning and power – they love playing games with people. They live by the motto, "The end justifies the means".
Need considerable stimulation to keep them from being bored. Penchant for high-risk thrill seeking behaviours. Often known for speeding and dangerous driving.
Flourish in turmoil. If there is no turmoil, often they will create some to put them in a good light or profit from.
Have a strong ability to make hard decisions, keep their emotions in check and remain cool under fire.
See rules and regulations as irrelevant and made to be broken. They tend not to comply with regulatory or legislative obligations.
Are prone to engage in speculative ventures or accept unusually high business risks.
Are not team players. They will hog the limelight, downplay other's contributions, play politics and knife the competition. Often get promoted rapidly through the ranks, without ever taking projects to completion.
Prefer to live off others success rather than through their own efforts. Often demand financial support from others (which they never repay), will get others to do their work and will always look for the easy way to do something and make a fast buck.
Lack empathy and understanding of human feeling. They believe everyone is as greedy and unfeeling as them. They can be great mimics of emotions, but are emotionally barren (they do not feel love, joy or hope).
Lack remorse and guilt. They have no conscience and sleep well at night no matter what they have done.
Can have aggressive tempers that flare from out of no-where, but their temper can be controlled if it is in their best interest to do so – saving their vindictiveness for another time.
Have a great sense of superiority and entitlement. Believe other people exist to take care of them.
Avoid taking responsibility for things that go wrong; instead, they blame others, circumstances, fate etc. They ignore deadlines, and will often turn in work late or not at all, while blaming external factors.
Ignore financial responsibilities – regularly defaulting on loans, failing to pay child support and running up debts with no intention to pay them.
Are rarely caught or reported, as their victims often are simply glad to be rid of them and are too ashamed at being conned. Often if victims do speak up, they are threatened with reprisals or litigation.
Leave lasting psychological scars on the victims who have had their trust betrayed. They feel cheated, defiled and often incredulous that the person they liked turned out to be a psychopath.
In Summary
To be honest, I wish I had known more about psychopaths and sociopaths while I was back in HR. Then I could have perhaps understood some of the probable psychopaths I had met over the years.
I may have understood the CEO who had not paid GST for 2 years, regularly "forgot" to pay suppliers until debt recovery action was taken, and routinely underpaid employees, while raking in multi-million dollar profits.
I could have understood the marketer who regularly marketed bogus weight loss products with the comment, "If people are stupid enough to believe what I write, I may as well make money from it".
I perhaps could have understood the "pillar of the church" business consultant who proudly boasted that while his wife was in intensive care in hospital after complications from childbirth with their first baby, had moved his mistress into his home to look after the new baby and his personal needs, until his wife was better.
And I could have understood the senior executive who told me to "Bury the vegies and make them think we are doing them a favour" when referring to a team of long serving employees within an organisation.
But perhaps not. Now at least I have a pretty good idea what I was dealing with.
And if you are interested in learning more, below I have a reading list of useful books and websites on the topic.
Books of the Week: Books & Links on Psychopaths & Sociopaths
There are starting to be a few useful books out on psychopaths & sociopaths - how to spot them, deal with them and heal from them.
The best book on Corporate Psychopaths, and the one written by expert clinical psychologists is by Dr Paul Babiak & Dr Robert D. Hare, Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work.
It deals with the full range of behaviours, as well as giving tangible suggestions on what to do to improve your recruitment process, as well as what to do if you suspect your boss, co-worker, subordinate or partner may have psychopathic tendencies. If you only read one book on the topic - this is the one!
Scientists have invented sociometric badges to help people identify if they dominate conversations and to improve group communication ... but how do they work?
Legal stuff: This newsletter is intended as only a general guideline for Australian businesses. You should seek specific advice for your situation rather than relying only on this newsletter
Earnings disclaimer. Some of the content may include advertorial information, which means I may receive financial compensation for the products I recommend. But - unless I know and trust the product, I will not recommend it.
It's one of those things I think we should all know more about. For your son there's some research listed on the Aftermath website on the genetics of Psychopathy - aftermath-surviving-psychopathy.org. Bottom line seems to be your love and nuturing will go a long way, combined with early intervention if you see any traits coming out.
I married one. I never saw what he was and accepted all the lies and excuses. I'm thankful that these people move on and don't look back. I want him as far away from me as possible.
Thankfully, he did pay a partial price for everything he did, including imprisonment and financial loss. But emotionally, me and my children, will probably always bear the scars.
I'm sorry to hear about your experience Dorothy - Know that it is not your fault and you were deliberately targeted by this charmer. There is a brilliant book you may be interested in called Love Fraud by Donna Anderson. Her experience will make your skin crawl - and yes, the scars take a long time to heal (I'm still carrying the odd scar or two from my experience). If you seek professional help, make sure the psychologist actually understands psychopaths/sociopaths as not all have the skills to deal with the damage. Finally, definitely check out the Love Fraud website www.lovefraud.com - there are countless stories there and loads of support. Wishing you a brighter future!
It's funny - when I first started to do the research I had more than one lightbulb moment about people from my past. It is remarkably healing - much in the same way getting a diagnosis of a medical condition can give a sense of peace. Snakes in Suits is a brilliant book - well worth reading.
Peter – Brisbane
September 15, 2011 - 20:54
Subject: Working with Monsters
Great article Ingrid. I wish I had read the book "Working With Monsters" before entering in the franchise business. Then I would understand the franchisor who did not care about building a strong and ethical business but was more concerned with controlling and crushing franchisees.
The book sounds great Peter - and from an Australian perspective. There are more corporate psychopaths out there than we care to think about. At least knowing more about them helps us realise that it isn't us, we are not going mad, and they are the way they are and we can't change them (psychopathy is one of the few disorders totally resistant to any form of therapy or drug treatment).
Great article and very topical considering the extensive comments that are being made on various sites regarding workplace bullying and other forms of inappropriate behaviour. Understanding the 'devil' we know (and sometimes the devil may be hiding inside us) is critical in managing relationships at work and at home. However, when it comes to workplace presentations on bullying etc, the presentation will typically cover policy and procedure unless of course there has been a specific request to cover some of the 'hard' issues. How many organisations want to admit that a percentage of their employees, or worse still, a percentage of the executive have the traits and behaviours that could result in them being labelled as a psychopath or sociopath? These are some of the sacred cows or 'elephants in the room' that need to be addressed and discussed. Otherwise in my view, we end up paying lip service and think that denial is a river in Egypt. I can recommend reading Snakes in Suits and I do have a copy close by.
I agree with you Bernie. Most corporations are not willing to address the challenge of realising that a significant % of their senior execs may have a personality disorder. They will send them off for leadership training or executive coaching to polish off any rough edges, but fail to grasp there may be something deeper.
It is akin to religious organisations failing to accept there were bullies and pedophiles amongst their clergy. Psychopaths tend to split organisations. To those people of value to them, they present a brilliant front and gain much loyalty. To those of little value to them, they damage or ignore. This is why even when someone is eventually shown to be a phoney, there will still be people who deny the crime and support the psychopath.
I have no real idea on how we can change things, other than start to create awareness of the condition and start the discussion.
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