Is Your Boss a Psychopath?

Fast Company ^ | June 22, 2005 | Alan Deutschman

[RicocheT]

Odds are you've run across one of these characters in your career. They're glib, charming, manipulative, deceitful, ruthless -- and very, very destructive. And there may be lots of them in America's corner offices.

...The standard clinical test for psychopathy, Robert Hare's PCL-R, evaluates 20 personality traits overall, but a subset of eight traits defines what he calls the "corporate psychopath" -- the nonviolent person prone to the "selfish, callous, and remorseless use of others." Does your boss fit the profile?

[martin_fierro]

My last boss scored an "11" -- "Be afraid"

Wotta head case she was.

[martin_fierro]

There have been so many Pop References made to that movie that I must get around to seeing it some day.

[TheBigB]

It's one of those where everyone around you makes reference to it, but you kinda resist seeing it, then you do, and you laugh out loud through the whole thing. : )

[BurbankKarl]

I noticed that Fast Company is about to be sold again....

[DancesWithTrout]

I need to see you in my office when you finish FReeping.

[SMARTY]

They do just fine and everyone re enforces their bad behavior. Most especially, women who achieve some level of responsibility and authority...they are the most hateful and insufferable.

[lilylangtree]

Mine's got a bloated image of himself.

[South40]

Those are usually the managers, and any subordinate who is that way is that way because the incompetent manager allows it.

What a crock. That was the closest thing to a liberal talking point than I've ever seen a FReeper say.

Ever heard of personal responsibility?

[thoughtomator]

Ditto on that. My last boss was a case study in manipulative, destructive, and ultimately self-defeating behavior.

[Arkie2]

Umm

Napolean, Stalin, Hitler, Ghengis Khan, Pol Pot (he's in the news lately), Mugabe, etc., etc. The list is endless. I would even argue that it takes precisely this kind of personality to be a great conquerer whether on the battlefield or in the boardroom.

[Constitution Day]

Got those TPS reports done yet?

[LIConFem]

LOL!! My boss isn't a FReeper, although he is a conservative. And he doesn't have an office as such. Just a cubie in the same area as the rest of us.

[alice_in_bubbaland]

Public school Principals and Administrators are the worst from of psychopath's I've ever seen!

[nosofar]

He does, however, suffer from "smartest man in the world" syndrome, which manifests itself as an inability to hear or process ideas that didn't originate from between his own ears.

Did you catch this part of the article?

"There's another personality that's often found in the executive suite: the narcissist. While many psychologists would call narcissism a disorder, this trait can be quite beneficial for top bosses, and it's certainly less pathological than psychopathy."

[unbalanced but fair]

[najida]

I've had 3 wackaloons.

All female.

Best boss ever is a guy.

Go figure.

[TheBigB]

Yeah, I KNOW we're using the new coversheets on the TPS reports. Seriously I do...I just, y'know, forgot this one time...I've got the memo right here...

Have you seen my stapler?

[RushCrush]

Didn't you get the memo?

[fso301]

I doubt destructive people make it very far

Yes but they ruin many careers along the way.

[RushCrush]

Women are insane. All of them. (disclaimer: i'm a woman so i can say this)

I'll never have a female boss again.