Corporate Psychos Blend in Well
by David Hogben
Vancouver Sun
Jan. 25, 2004Psychopaths are attracted to today's business climate
The corporate crazy in a suit is rarely the image that immediately comes to mind when the topic of psychopaths is raised.
But the world of the unfeeling psychopaths is not limited to the popular images of monsters who steal people's children, kill without remorse or plunder pension funds for personal pleasure, according to two leading experts in the field.
Now those experts on psychopaths have developed a guide for identifying the psychopathic managers increasingly attracted to the fast-paced business world.
"The psychopath has the ability to look like an ideal leader, because he or she can demonstrate those traits the organization needs and wants," corporate psychologist Paul Babiak said in an interview Friday.
Babiak and the University of B.C.'s Robert Hare, a professor emeritus in psychology, have developed a 107-point questionnaire for identifying psychopaths in the corporate world.
Hare has studied psychopaths for 35 years and has also developed a clinical checklist to detect psychopaths that has been used in Canadian criminal trials.
Hare has argued there are good reasons for psychological screening of corporate leaders, just as there are for psychological screening of police and teachers.
He told a meeting of the Canadian Police Association in 2002 that such screening of corporate leaders could prevent some of the massive frauds perpetrated in the business world.
The "B-Scan" is used to assess corporate managers and identify the potentially destructive individuals who, although they have psychopathic traits, can portray themselves as ideal corporate leaders.
"You can guess that one to two per cent of the people that you work with could have psychopathic tendencies," said Babiak, a New York-based private psychologist with 25 years experience in management development for major international corporations.
The corporate psychopath is not one that easily attracts attention.
"The psychopath is someone who comes across as smooth, polished and charming. That is a good thing for most managers, for most people, to be, yet we know that almost every psychopath is charming, smooth and polished.
"The psychopath is the kind of individual that can give you the good impression, has a charming facade, can look and sound like the ideal leader, but behind this mask has a dark side. And it's this dark side of the personality that lies, is deceitful, is manipulative, that bullies other people, that promotes fraud in the organization and steals the company's money and does not help shareholders at all," Babiak said.
Babiak said the quickly changing corporate world is increasingly susceptible to the psycho in a suit.
The old, staid, bureaucratic organization filled with rules, policies and procedures was too frustrating and unattractive to the psychopath, Babiak said.
"Now, because the pace of business has accelerated so much, only organizations that can move fast can survive. It also makes it more fun to work there, not just for you and I, but for the psychopath as well," he said.
Babiak said he has dealt with corporate psychopaths who not only demonstrate the defining characteristics of lack of remorse and empathy, but also enjoy causing others pain.
"Believe me, I have seen individuals fire people and take great pleasure in doing it," he said.
It's not only business, but fields such as politics, law, policing, religious organizations and news, that attract psychopaths.
"I would expect more in those areas, because of the money, the faster pace, the excitement and the glamour. Those are the things that attract the psychopath."
10 Ways to Spot a Psycho Boss
The 107-question B-scan asks other workers Peers, employees and supervisors questions such as these to determine whether executives have psychopathic traits.
1. Comes across as smooth, polished and charming.
2. Turns most conversations around to a discussion of him or herself.
3. Discredits, puts down others in order to build up own image and reputation.
4. Lies to coworkers, customers, or business associates with a straight face.
5. Considers people he or she has outsmarted or manipulated as dumb or stupid.
6. Opportunistic; hates to lose, plays ruthlessly to win.
7. Comes across as cold and calculating.
8. Acts in an unethical or dishonest manner.
9. Has created a power network in the organization and uses it for personal gain.
10. Shows no regret for making decisions that negatively affect the company, shareholders, or employees.
B-Scan RV by Paul Babiak, Ph.D. and Robert D. Hare, Ph.D (c) 2003 MultiHealth Systems, Inc.