From left to right: Robert Maxwell, Bernie Madoff and Ken Lay
Have you ever felt like your boss always takes credit? your work, while putting you down and focusing on yourself? If so, your manager may be a corporate psychopath.
Clive Boddy, professor of management at Anglia Ruskin University, will present his research on Monday into «ruthlessly self-serving» psychopathic bosses and what they mean for employees. economics at the Chelmsford Science Festival.
Professor Boddy has pioneered the study of corporate psychopaths in academia, arguing that the unique combination of personality traits they possess contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, among other disasters.
Psychopathy is not officially recognized as a medical or mental illness. health condition, but is considered a personality disorder. Psychopaths are programmed to feel no shame or empathy, and are estimated to make up about 1% of the adult population.They are drawn to positions of power, especially in the City.
“In fact, they you need money, power and control, and these are things that are found more in the financial sector than in the financial sector. For example, the caring profession,” says Professor Boddy.
Previous studies have shown that 3.9% of people in senior management positions are psychopaths. In financial services, Boddy believes the figure may be closer to 8%.
“One New York psychiatrist said that about 10% of his Wall Street patients were psychopaths.”
“One New York psychiatrist said that about 10% of his Wall Street patients were psychopaths.”
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Robert Maxwell gave an example of corporate psychopathic traits. Photo: Express/HULTON ARCHIVE
Such people are sometimes called “successful psychopaths.” They function within society — and actually do it very well.
«Essentially they understand that robbing a post office will send you to jail, but getting money through more legal means within the corporate structure is much safer and more rewarding,» says Professor Boddy.
These people often become very rich . However, they also have experience in driving companies into bankruptcy.
Notable figures who exemplify corporate psychopathic traits in history include Bernie Madoff, the architect of the world's largest Ponzi scheme, who swindled people out of $18 billion; journalist Robert Maxwell, who stole £400 million from his employees' pension funds; American executive Albert Dunlap, known as “Chainsaw Al” because of his brutal mass layoffs and whose career ended in a massive accounting scandal; and Ken Lay, founder of Enron, the commodities company that suffered one of the biggest accounting scandals of all time.
American Psycho's main character, Patrick Bateman, is portrayed as a corporate psychopath. Photo: Lions Gate/Everett/Shutterstock
How do they get away with it? Corporate psychopaths can be dazzling. They are glamorous, grandiose and obsessed with the minutiae of their image — think of Patrick Bateman jealously admiring his rival's calling card in American Psycho.
The biggest sign of a corporate psychopath is a noticeable difference in the way they behave with junior and senior colleagues.
“Those above them usually consider them stars because they are very good at impression management, then how their subordinates tend to think they are the devil in a suit. «, says Professor Boddy.
Psychopaths are often sarcastic and like to humiliate people in public. “They make people cry in the office in front of others.”
As a result, corporate psychopaths tend to run companies dry. Professor Boddy says: “As soon as they arrive, good people start leaving. This results in a lack of experience within the organization and an inability to train newcomers.
“Not only do people leave under the leadership of a corporate psychopath, it undermines their self-confidence and desire to work.”
However, identifying and weeding out corporate psychopaths can be difficult. They are very good at interviews.
“Selection committees are fooled by their charm,” says Professor Boddy.
Psychopaths are especially good at lying and making claims about other people's work. like your own. Reference checks are usually done on former bosses, who are often satisfied with their jobs. However, those who have worked under a corporate psychopath may have a very different opinion.
Corporate psychopaths advocate for more selfish and short-term reward systems. They insist on immediate personal bonuses rather than making decisions for long-term growth.
One New York psychiatrist said that about 10% of his Wall Street patients were psychopaths. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
Professor Boddy argues that this mindset contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
“It explains the culture of greed and lack of ethics, and the selling of derivative products when no one really does not understand the risks associated with them.”
Although corporate psychopaths are a minority among employees, the consequences are felt by almost everyone. their management style, given their impact on companies as a whole.
The problem extends beyond the city. Politics is also a breeding ground for corporate psychopaths, says Professor Boddy, as is the law and, alas, the media.
What can be done?
Professor Boddy argues that employers should improve reference checking and increase the use of psychometric testing, which can measure people's personality traits. This is especially important for executive appointments, he says.
A more radical proposal is that regulators could assign psychopathy ratings to companies, he suggests.
Some might argue, that solving the problem of corporate governance psychopathy is simply not worth the effort. But Professor Boddy believes it is a scourge that needs to be addressed.
“Some of the people I spoke to [who worked under corporate psychopaths] took several years to return to their normal level of belief in self and self-confidence.
“This represents a net decline in what would otherwise be the productivity of the economy. Ultimately, this will affect the gross national product.”
Simply put, this is a matter of national importance, not just uprooting a few bad apples.
What about you? Have you encountered the problems mentioned here in a corporate environment? Tell us in the comments section below.
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