Generic Corporate Psychopath Traits Enumeration

A useful list of traits can be found at Behavior of the serial bully page as it include typical for corporate psychopaths set of traits and behaviors. But please note that this enumerative approach  based on trait in not scientific and suffers from inherent primitivism: people are complex creatures and the concept of trait is a simplification in itself.  In a way trait are linked to inner complex machinery and psychopathic traits are just a manifestation of some more complex mal-adaptive strategies. That means that we can get only a limited understanding of a person relying on "trait-based" approach.  The second danger is that it stimulates mental cliché forming. Given the harm that psychopaths do to others; it is easy to just judge them as "evil" and not consider that this disorder may have an underlying biological cause.

So we best should think about them just as warning signs: similar to technical signals about stock market direction. If enough are present in the first case it is prudent to sell while in the second to start updating your resume.

At the same time entries some traits lists like

• "displays a seemingly limitless energy especially when engaged in attention-seeking activities" 
• "evasion of accountability and is often a committeeaholic or apparent workaholic"

are too very generic.  This is the nature of corporate game after all. In a sense corporate environment is psychopathic personalities friendly, especially female psychopathic personalities friendly.  

In a way corporate world generate some psychopathic traits in managers. That means that it might be useful to distinguish psychopathic vs. neurotic management adaptation (Management Fad Adoption: An Exploration of Three Psychogenic Influences  by Kerry David Carson, Paula Phillips Carson, Patricia A. Lanier, Ross D. Judice):

One psychological area that has frequently appeared in the management literature is the study of personality traits.  Personality variables have been suggested to influence work-related behaviors such as career success (Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, & Barrick, 1999), leadership skills (Taggar, Hackett, & Saha, 1999; Watson & Clark, 1997), job-seeking ability (Wanberg, Watt & Runsey, 1996), job performance (Barrick & Mount, 1991; Tett, Jackson, & Rothstein, 1991) and job competence (Robertson & Kinder, 1993), just to name a few.  Additionally, in a distinct but related area, there is research linking personality with decision-making ability (Haraburda, 1999; Jackson, Furnham & Lawty-Jones, 1999; Manrai & Andrews, 1998; Shafer, 2000).  Yet, in spite of these thoroughly researched connections, little has been written in the organizational behavior literature on neurosis.  Further, the relationship between maladaptive personality traits and fad adoption has not yet been explored.

In the fast-paced, constantly evolving world of business, successful managers must possess the ability to alter their behaviors and managerial style to fit the situation. Those individuals classified as neurotic do not possess this capability.  Neurotic individuals are most likely to lack emotional stability and to be especially affected by negative life events (Judge, Higgins, Thoreson, & Barrick, 1999; Suls, Green, & Hills, 1998).  In other words, they lack the ability to adapt.  They use the same style for all scenarios.  Sometimes this rigid style will fit what is needed in a particular situation, but most of the time it won’t (Carson & Carson, 1998).

Furthermore, individuals possessing high levels of neuroticism have difficulties making decisions.  Haraburda (1999) found that participants who scored higher in decisiveness had lower levels of neuroticism.  Jackson, Furnham, and Lawty-Jones (1999) conducted a similar study investigating the relationship between “can’t decide” scores and personality traits.  Their analysis showed that the “can’t decide” score was moderately and positively correlated with neuroticism.

Finally, neuroticism has been linked also to the trait of negative affectivity.  Stokes and Levin (1990) found that the negative affectivity scale was significantly correlated with the Eysenck Neuroticism Scale.  Negative affectivity is characterized by a disposition to experience negative emotional states and the tendency to interpret ambiguous information in a negative manner (Isen & Barron, 1992).  Therefore, the neurotic manager, who also possesses the trait of negative affectivity, will be most likely to process uncertain information in a negative manner.  This misinterpretation will cause inaccurate decision-making that may lead to the inappropriate selection of a fad.  Consequently, neurotic managers may adopt fads due to both a lack of emotional stability and a lack of appropriate decision processes.  Moreover, these fad adoptions will seldom be effective because the rigidity of their pathology will interfere with fashion adaptation.

For example, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, a practicing psychoanalyst with a doctorate in business administration from Harvard, notes that inflexible personalities of executives seriously affect the organizational culture.  He and his co-author, Danny Miller, draw parallels between individual neurosis and organizational neurosis (Kets de Vries & Miller, 1984).  They note that, particularly in centralized decision-making structures, the rigid style of the executive is reflected throughout the organizational process.  They identify five types of neurotic leaders: (a) Dramatic, (b) Suspicious, (c) Depressive, (d) Compulsive, and (e) Detached.  The following text will describe how these neurotic orientations influence the inappropriate adoption and abandonment of management fashions. 

List of Traits

1. Is often described as sycophantic (Kiss-up kick-down person):

   • Relies on mimicry, repetition and regurgitation to convince others that he or she is both a "normal" human being and a tough dynamic manager, as in extolling the virtues of the latest management fads and pouring forth the accompanying jargon
      

   • Is unusually skilled in being able to anticipate what superiors want to hear and then saying it plausibly
      

2. Has a Jekyll and Hyde nature - is vile, vicious and vindictive with subordinates in private but innocent and charming in front of witnesses;

   • No-one can (or wants to) believe this individual has a vindictive nature - only the current target of the serial bully's aggression sees both sides; whilst the Jekyll side is described as "charming" and convincing enough to deceive personnel, management, the Hyde side is frequently described as "evil"; Hyde is the real person, Jekyll is a mask

   •  Uses excessive charm and is always plausible and convincing when peers, superiors or others are present (charm can be used to deceive as well as to cover for lack of empathy)
      

3. Cannot be trusted or relied upon; Is a convincing, practiced liar.  When called to account, will make up anything spontaneously to fit their needs at that moment. As Hare stated:

    "Lying, deceiving, and manipulation are natural talents for psychopaths...When caught in a lie or challenged with the truth, they are seldom perplexed or embarrassed -- they simply change their stories or attempt to rework the facts so that they appear to be consistent with the lie. The results are a series of contradictory statements and a thoroughly confused listener." (Hare, 46).

   This feature has two main dimensions:
    
   • Is evasive and has a Houdini-like ability to escape accountability
     • Psychopaths show a "disturbing lack of empathy" and fail to learn from their experiences, always blaming someone else for their problems and misdeeds.
     • Refuses to be specific and avoid giving a straight answer
     • Avoids written communication
     • Often communicated assignments via patsies.
     • When caught in a lie and challenged, they make up new lies, and don't care if they're found out.
     • Fails to fulfill commitments
        

   • Excels at deception and should never be underestimated in their capacity to deceive

     • Is constantly imposing on others a false reality made up of distortion and fabrication

     • Often fraudulently claims qualifications, experience, titles, entitlements or affiliations which are ambiguous, misleading, or bogus

     • Is highly manipulative, especially of people's perceptions and emotions (especially guilt).
        

4. Despite all their outward bravado, many psychopaths who report feeling depressed.

   • Often describe themselves as empty, dark, void, etc, for "disorders like depression, alcohol or drug dependence, pathological gambling, and psychosexual disturbances can accompany ASP (psychopathy) and even may have been the driving force that led the patient to seek help." (Black, 71).

   • Psychopaths may also sense that they are different and damaged when compared with others, which feeds further resentments.
      
5. Often exhibits problems in sexual behavior
   • Underneath the charming exterior there are often suspicions or hints of sex discrimination and sexual harassment, perhaps also sexual dysfunction, sexual inadequacy, sexual perversion, sexual violence or sexual abuse

   • In a relationship, is incapable of initiating or sustaining intimacy
      

6. Is self-opinionated and displays arrogance, audacity, a superior sense of entitlement and sense of invulnerability and untouchability
    

   • Might hold deep prejudices (e.g. against the opposite gender, people of a different sexual orientation, other cultures and religious beliefs, foreigners, etc - prejudiced people are unvaryingly unimaginative) but goes to great lengths to keep this prejudicial aspect of their personality secret
      

   • Is a control freak and has a compulsive need to control everyone and everything you say, do, think and believe; for example, will launch an immediate personal attack attempting to restrict what you are permitted to say if you start talking knowledgeably about psychopathic personality or antisocial personality disorder in their presence

     • Aggressively maintains the right to talk (usually unknowledgeably) about anything they choose;

     • Despise and viciously attack anyone who enables others to see through their deception and their mask of sanity
        

7. Consistently demonstrates petty sadism and desire to hurt victims:

   • Displays a compulsive need to criticize whilst simultaneously refusing to value, praise and acknowledge others, their achievements, or their existence

   • Gains gratification from denying people what they are entitled to

   • Have a reliable, polished verbal facility at times of conflict.

   • Shows a lack of joined-up thinking with conversation that doesn't flow and arguments that don't hold water

     • Often misses the semantic meaning of language, misinterprets what is said, sometimes wrongly thinking that comments of a satirical, ironic or general negative nature apply to him or herself.

     •  Knows the words but not the song

     • Flips from topic to topic so that you come away feeling you've never had a proper conversation

     • Is glib, shallow and superficial with plenty of fine words and lots of form - but there's no substance
        

8. Undermines and destroys anyone who the bully perceives to be an adversary, a potential threat, or who can see through the bully's mask

   • Is quick to discredit and neutralize anyone who can talk knowledgeably about antisocial or sociopathic behaviors.

   • Is adept at creating conflict between those subordinates who would otherwise collate incriminating information about them

   • May pursue a vindictive vendetta against anyone who dares to held them accountable, perhaps using others' resources organizations in pursuance of the vendetta

   • Is also quick to belittle, undermine, denigrate and discredit anyone who calls, attempts to call, or might call him/her to account
      

   • With "undesirable" subordinates can often be : 

     • When called upon to share or address the needs and concerns of subordinates, responds with impatience, irritability and aggression

     • Is officious, and often unbelievably petty

     • Is mean, stingy, and financially untrustworthy

     • Is always a taker and never a giver
        

9. Has an overbearing belief in their qualities of leadership (often mentioning mentorship ;-) but cannot distinguish between leadership (maturity, decisiveness, assertiveness, co-operation, trust, integrity) and bullying (immaturity, impulsiveness, aggression, manipulation, distrust, deceitfulness)

   • Is arrogant despite incompetence
      

   • Often has an overwhelming, unhealthy and narcissistic attention-seeking need to portray themselves as a wonderful, kind, caring and compassionate person, in contrast to their behavior and treatment of others; the bully sees nothing wrong with their behavior and chooses to remain oblivious to the discrepancy between how they like to be seen and how they are seen by others
      

   • Sometimes displays a seemingly limitless energy especially when engaged in attention-seeking activities or evasion of accountability and is often a committeeaholic or apparent workaholic

Etc

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Created May 16, 2006; Last updated: December 18, 2014