Is my boss a psychopath?!

I was instantly drawn to this BBC story, which will have given many people in the workplace pause for thought. In Business Studies, it’s often important to focus attention on leadership and its importance to the organisation.

The headline grabbing title is a bit misleading. The thrust of the article is to describe behaviour such as being more ruthless, fearless, self-confident, focused, mentally tough, charming or charismatic - as ‘psychopathic’ characteristics. I’m not entirely persuaded.

But the expert quoted goes on to say that the danger comes when "all these traits are turned up too high, and that's when you start getting individuals who are dysfunctional". The same writer is anxious to avoid causing offence by picking out ‘desirable’ psychopathic tendencies like not procrastinating, or taking things personally, but points out that "they don't beat themselves up when things go wrong …If you're putting in for a rise, you might feel a little anxious about doing that - what would happen if I don't get it, what would my boss think about me? Well, just have the courage of your convictions and go for it. Don't focus on the negatives, focus on the positives. By doing that it makes you more confident, and more likely to get what you want in the first place,” he says.

OK – so far, perhaps …. but then psychopathic characteristics like these are perhaps less desirable:

• They have no qualms about manipulating your emotions
• They see employees just as pieces on a chessboard
• They will take the credit for your new ideas
• They will happily lie to promote themselves
• They are good at getting others to take the blame
• They can be very charming - so long as it benefits them
• They have charisma - but it comes with a chill factor

"If your boss has a tendency to step on those beneath him but goes out of his way to impress those above him - it's time to move."

Have you seen or heard of businesses that tolerate this kind of culture of behaviour? There’s actually a lot to think about here. There’s a whole spectrum to discuss, including not just the boss who is too nasty – but also the business culture that is too nice.