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Use This 5-Step Plan to Handle Psychopaths and Narcissists at Work
Ask most people to picture a psychopath and the first image that comes to their mind will probably be something akin to a Silence of the Lambs character. But psychology tells us “functional” or non-criminal psychopathy is hardly limited to prisons and slasher movies.
Depending on which study you believe, something between 1 and 4 percent of the population suffers from the lack of empathy, low emotionality, and selfishness that are hallmarks of psychopathy. Other research suggests the rate of psychopathy may be as high as 20 percent among CEOs.
You probably don’t need science to tell you plenty of self-involved, thin-skinned narcissists walk among us, too. Following politics — or a whole lot of influencers — confirms the fact. Gaslighting, which describes a quintessential narcissist behavior, was even named word of the year in 2022. Chances are good that you are going to run into a few psychopaths and narcissists in the course of running your business.
How to spot “dark personalities” at work
Scientists gather these problematic personality types — along with the manipulative, self-serving streak known as Machiavellianism — under the umbrella term dark personality traits. They’ve developed handy tests and more involved checklists…
