But corporate executives aren’t promoted on merit -that’s a part of the problem. They are promoted on the Peter Principle where people “rise to the level of their incompetence” as well as the erroneous belief fostered in a dominance hierarchy like the social system that we live in that confidence equals competence. A huge percentage of CEOs and politicians, for that matter, are narcissists and psychopaths who have no real business in the jobs that they are in but they looked and acted the part because they have a lot of self-confidence and drive. They had “executive presence” which was merely their veneer for their overwhelming belief in their own awesomeness.
My husband worked in C-suits for the past 20 years and has seen this time and time again.
“Having a psychopath within a company can lead to poor employee retention, said Hancock, referencing FBI research that found that departments managed by psychopaths decreases productivity and morale in the team.
Eight to 14 people could be lost because of one psychopath. That’s the real cost of having something like that in your organization, especially if there’s an HR cover-up.”
A person with a psychopathic personality, which manifests as amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships and extreme egocentricity.
In other words, s/he has some of these traits:
- Is superficially charming
- Has a gigantic ego or sense of their own importance
- Gets bored very easily
- Lacks remorse, guilt, or empathy
- Enjoys manipulating people
