Is a "corporate psychopath" lurking among your ranks?

26 February 2009 8:01am

"Corporate psychopaths" create workplace conflict and cause top talent to flee, but there are ways to recognise and remove them before it's too late, says organisational psychologist Jason Blaik.

Blaik, Onetest's psychology research and development manager, says psychopaths also cause damage to a company's reputation, and legal and financial difficulties, with the risks increasing if they are allowed to climb into positions of power.

Many high-profile company collapses in recent years are believed to have been contributed to by corporate psychopaths, he says.

Psychopaths are characterised by failings in four main areas, he says, in that they:

refuse to adopt common interpersonal conventions of honesty, modesty and trustworthiness, as they don't believe these are important;

fail on an affective level because they don't experience emotions like love, empathy and guilt - they can't understand and feel these on a personal level;

exhibit impulsive behaviour, in that they fail to adopt widely shared norms pertaining to financial responsibility and safe conduct; and

lead an antisocial lifestyle, failing to obey the laws of society (Blaik says psychopaths make up a disproportionate number of the prison population).

But while people generally associate the term "psychopath" with murderers, the majority ply their trade in more subtle ways, Blaik says.

"They actually exhibit characteristics highly valued by the business world, because their lack of empathy and conscience can be seen as an ability to make tough decisions, and they don't appear to experience stress."

Psychopaths are generally thought to make up about one per cent of the general population, he says, but it's more like three per cent in the corporate world. They are equally represented among men and women, and Blaik predficts the female corporate psychopath will become a bigger feature of the corporate world as more women break through the glass ceiling.

Warning signs

Unfortunately for employers, very little can be done to reform a corporate psychopath, because they tend not to believe they have a problem and they don't want to change, Blaik says.

To avoid damage from their actions an employer must identify behaviour that breaches workplace policies and ethical practices and remove them from the organisation using the appropriate performance management and disciplinary procedures.

Some signs that an existing employee might be a corporate psychopath include that they:

present consistently in a smooth, polished and charming way;
redirect conversations to focus around them;
discredit or put others down in an attempt to enhance their own status and reputation;
tell lies with ease to colleagues, clients and business associates;
demonstrate a lack of empathy or understanding of others' emotions; and
create internal power networks in the organisation and use them for personal gain.

Avoid hiring mistakes

A corporate psychopath will generally charm the hiring team into selecting them for the job, and once inside the organisation will identify a potential support network of employees, along with people who can be manipulated, Blaik says. During the "ascension phase" the psychopath works his or her way into positions of power.

But, Blaik says, there are ways to identify these people before they join your organisation.

Corporate psychopaths often appear to recruiting staff as "ideal" candidates, he says.

They present extremely well at interview, coming across as charming, highly intelligent, confident, calm and slick. They appear to have all the right experience and command the respect of everyone in the room but, "sometimes when a candidate seems too good to be true, he or she probably is".

While many candidates' resumes contain falsehoods, Blaik notes, the corporate psychopath is more likely to embellish their skills and to change employment dates to hide some experiences, so particular care should be taken during background and reference checks to validate their claims.

Corporate psychopaths perform at their best in free-flowing, conversational interviews, so structured interviews are better for identifying gaps in their experience or knowledge.

Blaik also recommends complementing the selection process with objective measures such as work samples and psychological assessments.

He says recruiting personnel should keep in mind that if a candidate seems too good to be true, he or she probably is, "and if he seems perfect for the job, he probably isn't".

Blaik says it's important to note that if someone displays some of these behaviours occasionally, it doesn't mean they are a corporate psychopath. Anyone can "lose it" from time to time and "not all 'toxic' employees or bosses are psychopathic".

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