Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (25 page)

They frequently select and relentlessly attack targets who are relatively powerless.

Targeting the Vulnerable

Among the most attractive targets for a psychopathic con man are women who are insecure, lonely, or isolated from friends and family in a foreign country. In Canada recently, a man posed as a former Hong Kong police officer and claimed he now was working with the local police. He scammed wealthy women from Asian “satellite families,” in which the husband worked in Hong
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Kong and the family lived in Canada. He was able to insinuate himself into their lives, and in several cases was able to convince a woman that she should divorce her husband. In each case, he demanded money to invest in his business schemes, and if a woman resisted, he threatened or assaulted her and said that his criminal contacts in Hong Kong would harm her husband.

The man was ultimately convicted of extortion and defrauding one of the women and was sentenced to prison. The judge referred to him as a “snake who slithered into her life and ruined her life.”

This particular type of crime is played out in communities around the world. In most cases, the victims are afraid and embarrassed to come forward. Not all the victims are wealthy, but all are targeted by snakes.

Bullies react aggressively in response to provocation or perceived insults or slights. It is unclear whether their acts of bullying give them pleasure or are just the most effective way they have learned to get what they want from others. Similar to the manipulators, however, psychopathic bullies do not feel remorse, guilt, or empathy. They lack any insight into their own behavior, and seem unwilling or unable to moderate it, even when it is to their own advantage. Not being able to understand the harm they do to themselves (let alone their victims), psychopathic bullies are particularly dangerous.

Of course, not all bullies are psychopathic, though this may be of little concern to the victims. Bullies come in many psychological and physical sizes and shapes. In many cases, “garden variety” bullies have deep-seated psychological problems, including feelings of inferiority or inadequacy and difficulty in relating to others. Some may simply have learned at an early age that their size, strength, or verbal talent was the only effective tool they had for social behavior. Some of these individuals may be context-specific bullies, behaving badly at work but more or less normally in other contexts. But the psycho-190

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pathic bully is what he is: a callous, vindictive, controlling individual with little empathy or concern for the rights and feelings of the victim, no matter what the context.

In addition to these two specific types—the manipulator and the bully—we have seen a handful of cases that are even worse. Corporate puppetmasters, as we labeled them, seem to combine the features of each in a sophisticated way. They are adept at manipulating people—pulling the strings—from a distance, in order to get those directly under their control to abuse or bully those lower down in the organization. In essence, they use both strategies—manipulation and bullying—much like historical figures such as Stalin and Hitler, individuals who surrounded themselves with obedient followers, and through them controlled much of their countries’ populations. Any sign of disobedience (often accentuated by a paranoid stance) led them to attack their direct supporters as well. To the puppetmaster, both the intermediary (the “puppet”) and the ultimate victim are ex-pendable since neither is viewed as a real, individual person. We believe that corporate puppetmasters are examples of the much more dangerous classic psychopath.

Origins of Aggression

Developmental research indicates that early childhood is a time of considerable physical aggression, peaking between the ages of two and four. After a gradual decline with age, aggressive (and antisocial) behavior again peaks in late adolescence and then, in most cases, decreases in early adulthood; this pattern is described as adolescent-limited. However, the antisocial and aggressive behavior of some individuals is lifetime-persistent, meaning it can extend well into adulthood. Some of the features of the lifetime-persistent pattern (such as impulsivity, narcissism, callousness), but not others (such as verbal deficits, neurological problems, high anxiety), are similar to those found with psychopathy.

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Is it possible to identify aggressive and other traits in children that are potential precursors of those found in adult psychopaths?

Recent research in behavioral genetics indicates that it is indeed possible to do so (see page 47). Of particular importance is what has been referred to as a pattern of callous-unemotional (CU) traits, similar to the interpersonal/affective features of psychopathy listed on page 27. These traits can be measured in preschool children and are predictive of later aggressive and other behavioral problems.

Researcher Paul Frick and his colleagues have suggested that these CU traits arise out of low levels of fear-induced inhibitions (that is, they are not deterred by the threat of punishment), resulting in impairments in the development of moral socialization and conscience. Donald Lynam and his colleagues have provided evidence that the combination of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition [DSM-IV]) and conduct disorder (CD; per DSM-IV) represents the “fledgling psychopath.” This combination of adolescent disorders is thought to reflect problems in inhibiting behavior that is potentially unacceptable or harmful to self or others.

These problems in self-control, along with CD traits, appear to be important in the development of psychopathy.

Corporate Psychopaths We Have Known
Hervey Cleckley and many current researchers have suggested that the manipulative psychopaths would do well in business, politics, and other professions because of their ability to con others into believing they are honest and ethical and have talent, experience, and a flair for leadership. While the bullying psychopaths might seem ill-suited for work in these areas, our research suggests otherwise.

In management positions, their reputations keep rivals and subordinates at a distance, allowing them to use their power to get what they want. Furthermore, members of top management, not close to
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the day-to-day action, may hear rumors of such bullying behavior, but discount them as exaggerations due to envy and rivalry, or even accept the behavior as part of the person’s strong management style. To the degree that bullying psychopaths have bolstered their reputations as major contributors to the successful running of the business, they are immune to criticism or might receive a token

“slap on the wrist” occasionally. The puppetmasters are much more immune to organizational discipline because they themselves are in control of a greater number of employees, as well as systems, processes, and procedures designed to protect the organization and its members.

Doing the Crime but Not the Time

A Canadian ad executive, Paul Coffin, pleaded guilty to fifteen counts of defrauding the federal government of $1.5 million. For five years, he and his wife had lived the good life by double billing for his services and submitting bogus invoices for fictitious employees. During the investigation, he had been uncooperative and experienced many memory “lapses” about his criminal activities.

He received a conditional sentence (no jail time). The judge accepted the man’s suggestion that
instead
of prison he should deliver a series of lectures on
ethics
to university students. The proposed topics of these heartfelt lectures are: “Never compromise your integrity, no matter what the perceived benefit.” “The only person who can rob you of your reputation, credibility, and good name is yourself.”

Consider, also, the case of the former president of Hollinger International, David Radler, who pleaded guilty in the United States to a $32 million mail fraud, and agreed to testify against other company executives. In exchange, he received a sentence of twenty-nine months and a $250,000 fine. However, being Canadian, Radler probably will serve his time in a Canadian prison. Because his crime was not a violent one, he almost cerI’m Not a Psychopath, I Just Talk and Act Like One
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tainly will receive day parole (free by day, locked up at night)
after five months
and full parole after ten months.

No doubt, the convicted executives of Enron, Tyco, and World Com
wish
they had committed their crimes in Canada, or at least were Canadian citizens.

In our original research working with almost 200 high-potential executives, we found about 3.5 percent who fit the profile of the psychopath as measured on the PCL: SV (pages 26–28). While this may not seem like a large percentage, it is considerably higher than that found in the general population (1 percent), and perhaps more than most businesses would want to have on their payrolls, especially as these individuals were on the road to becoming leaders in their organizations. Of these individuals, we found that all had the traits of the manipulative psychopath: superficial, grandiose, deceitful, impulsive, irresponsible, not taking responsibility for their own actions, and lacking goals, remorse, and empathy. Of these individuals, two exhibited bullying, as well. From the cases we have reviewed from others in the field, as well as from readers, this level of incidence seems correct.

The average PCL: SV score for the corporate psychopaths was 19 (out of a top score of 24), which is well within the research range for psychopathy. In evaluating these findings, it is important to note that scores at this level indicate the presence of enough psychopathic features to be problematic for the organization.

Mistaking Psychopathic Traits for Good Leadership
Early research by psychologists and psychiatrists suggested that the behaviors of most psychopaths were too dysfunctional to make long-term survival in organizations possible and that they might be better suited to work on their own or in some other career. But based on our
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own research and that of others, we now know that some organizations actively seek out and recruit individuals with at least a moderate dose of psychopathic features. Some executives have said to us,

“Many of the traits you describe to us seem to be valued by our company. Why shouldn’t companies hire psychopaths to fill some jobs?”

A proper, scientific answer is that more research is needed to determine the impact of various doses of psychopathic characteristics on the performance of different types of jobs. The “optimal” number and severity of such characteristics presumably is higher for some jobs (such as stock promoter, politician, law enforcement, used-car salespeople, mercenaries, and lawyers) than for others (such as social workers, teachers, nurses, and ministers). Until such research is done, we can safely say that those who believe that “psychopathy is good”

clearly have not had much exposure to the real thing.

Anyone working with or for a psychopath will be painfully aware of his or her destructiveness. For an organization, one psychopath, unchecked, can do considerable harm to staff morale, productivity, and teamwork. The problem is that you cannot choose which psychopathic traits you want and ignore the others; psychopathy is a syndrome, that is, a package of related traits and behaviors that form the total personality of the individual. Unfortunately for business, the “good” traits often conceal the existence of the “bad” when it comes to a psychopath.

An important reason for mistaking a true psychopath for a leader is that a talented psychopath can easily feign leadership and management traits sought after by executives when making hiring, promotion, and succession planning decisions. A charming demeanor and grandiose talk can easily be mistaken for charismatic leadership and self-confidence. Furthermore, because of its critical importance to effective leadership, charisma, when it is found in a candidate, can lead to a “halo” effect—that is, a tendency for interviewers and decision makers to generalize from a single trait to the entire personality. The halo effect acts to “fill in the blanks” in the absence of other information about the person and can overshadow more critical judgI’m Not a Psychopath, I Just Talk and Act Like One
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ments. As mentioned earlier, even seasoned researchers—who know they are dealing with a psychopath—are often fooled into accepting things at face value.

The Dark Side of Charisma

Psychologist and researcher Robert T. Hogan and his associates have pointed out that
charisma
can hide a multitude of problems. “There are certain people who have good social skills, who rise readily in organizations, and who ultimately derail . . . because their apparent qualities hide a dark side.”

He notes that more executives are fired for personality problems than for incompetence. Most problematic are “narcissistic, psychopathic managers who exploit subordinates while currying favor with superiors. . . . Before they fail they cost their organizations large sums of money by causing poor morale, excessive turnover, and reduced productivity.”

The ability to influence events and decisions and persuade peers and subordinates to support your point of view are critical executive management skills. Not everyone has these skills at the level required by general management jobs. Organizations constantly seek people with these skills and invest significant sums of money in training, coaching, and development of staff to improve them. To find someone who seems to have a natural talent for influence and persuasion is rare. When found, it is hard for decision makers to look past it. We know that psychopaths are masters of conning and manipulation—

especially if covered over by a deceitful veneer of charm—leading to the perception that they have strong persuasion and leadership skills.