What Corporate
Climbers Can Teach Us
By Sue Shellenbarger
in the Wall Street Journal
Every office full of
ambitious people has them. And we have all worked with at least one—the
co-worker with an inexplicable ability to rise in the ranks.
"How do they do
it?" we may ask ourselves or whisper to friends at work. They don't have
more experience. They don't seem that brilliant.
But such co-workers
may possess a dose of one of the personality traits that psychologists call the
"dark triad": manipulativeness, a tendency to influence others for
selfish gain; narcissism, a profound self-centeredness; or an antisocial
personality, lacking in empathy or concern for others. These traits are
well-known for the bad behavior that they can cause when dominant in people's
personalities. At milder levels, however, they can actually foster skills that
can help people rise through the ranks.
For instance, people
with narcissism, who want to be the center of attention, often make a good
first impression on clients and bosses, says a 2014 review of more than 140
studies on people with mild, or "subclinical," levels of dark
personality traits. They also can be persuasive when pitching their own ideas.
The Manipulator
Influences others for
own gain
Dark Side: Uses flattery to influence others. Deceives
others to get desired results.
Silver Lining: Skilled in negotiating, enjoys combat. Good
at forming political alliances.
Manipulators influence
others for their own gain, using flattery or deceit if necessary. But these
personalities—also called Machiavellians—can also be charismatic leaders and
forceful negotiators, says the study, in the Journal of Organizational Behavior.
And while antisocial personalities lack empathy or concern for others, they can
be creative because they often enjoy testing limits.
Researchers are
increasingly studying the dark triad because it is "a well-organized
framework for a big chunk of individual differences that are relatively
unstudied, especially at work," says Seth M. Spain, lead author of the
2014 research review, and an assistant professor of organizational behavior at
Binghamton University, part of the State University of New York. Learning to
spot the traits in employees can help employers improve their career paths
through training and wise job assignments.
Also, "everybody
can learn from" understanding how narcissistic or manipulative people use
subtle skills to gain influence, Dr. Spain says. It can also help co-workers
and bosses spot extreme cases early and rein them in before they cause
grumbling and discontent.
Renee LeBouef cuts
short any co-workers' attempts to gossip with her since an experience with a
Machiavellian manager on a previous job undermined her relationships at the
office.
Narcissist
Dark Side: Wants to be the center of attention. Uses
appearance, charm to seek prestige and status.
Silver Lining: Pitches own ideas with enthusiasm, makes a
good first impression.
The manager used
flattery to make friends with Ms. LeBouef and other subordinates, telling them
how attractive or talented they were and pressuring them to reveal personal
information about themselves. The manager then used gossip to drive a wedge
between co-workers, tighten her control over the team and promote herself with
higher-ups, says Ms. LeBouef, a New Orleans sales and marketing manager.
Ms. LeBouef now shares
only superficial details about herself—that she has a boyfriend and likes
natural foods and holistic remedies—with co-workers. "They don't need to
know anything further about my life outside the office," she says. She
appreciates her current boss, because he shows enough interest in employees'
lives to demonstrate that he cares about them, without meddling.
People with dark
traits are often attractive job candidates because they display charm,
assertiveness and apparent leadership ability, the research review says.
Researchers believe narcissists tend to do well in training programs because
they want to be seen at their best.
"It's hard to go
anywhere and not find such people," says Toby Bishop of Toronto, past
president of the 71,000-member Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and an
independent antifraud strategy adviser. They are often skilled at making a good
first impression, and "people who can talk a good talk and impress others
will at least initially be respected and put in positions of authority and
command by others," he says.
The flattery often
used by manipulative people is helpful in getting named to corporate boards,
but only if it's used skillfully, says a 2010 study. Managers who framed
flattery as a request for advice, such as, "How were you able to pull off
that strategy so successfully?" improved their chances of winning a director's
seat, the study found.
Those who were clumsy
about it, however, stating flatly, "I really admire you," or,
"You're the greatest," hurt their chances, says the study of 1,822
managers, CEOs and directors in Administrative Science Quarterly.
Unconcerned with
others' feelings or welfare
Dark Side: Impulsive and thrill-seeking, tends toward
antagonism.
Silver Lining: Tends to think creatively, tests limits.
Manipulators are also
skilled at forming political alliances. "One of the reasons these people climb
so high in the company is that they're very forceful," says James D.
Ratley, president of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
The careers of people
with these characteristics tend to derail over time, in part because they tend
to focus on short-term benefits for themselves rather than long-term results
for their organizations. Colleagues may come to view them as hostile, harsh or
arrogant, Dr. Spain says. And when present at extreme or clinical levels, these
traits disrupt lives. One thing that trips people up, Mr. Ratley says:
"They think the rules don't apply to them."
Mr. Ratley and other
corporate accounting experts cite former HealthSouth Corp. CEO Richard Scrushy
as an example of a manipulative personality who could also be forceful and
persuasive. Mr. Scrushy used charisma and salesmanship to build the chain of
outpatient surgery and rehab clinics he founded in 1984 into a $4 billion
publicly traded giant.
"He's a classic
good salesman," says Aaron Beam, a former chief financial officer at
HealthSouth, and a speaker and author of a book on the experience. "He had
this magical ability to get people to agree with him."
Mr. Beam says Mr.
Scrushy also made life hard for employees who disagreed with him. "He
would literally scream at you," belittling and berating employees at
weekly staff meetings, says Mr. Beam, of Loxley, Ala. He also spent lavishly on
a flamboyant lifestyle.
HealthSouth hit the
rocks when regulators uncovered a $2.7 billion accounting fraud, and Mr.
Scrushy was fired as CEO in 2003. Mr. Scrushy was acquitted of criminal charges
in connection with the fraud, but a state court later imposed $2.88 billion in
civil damages against him for fraud. Mr. Beam served three months in prison for
bank fraud. Mr. Scrushy got out of prison in 2012 after serving five years in
connection with a different scandal, for bribing a state official.
"I do accept
responsibility that it [the accounting fraud] happened on my watch," Mr.
Scrushy says in an interview, but he admits no personal wrongdoing.
He says his style was
effective with underlings. "You don't manage 120 people by being a
pansy," he says of his direct reports at HealthSouth. "Any CEO worth
his salt has to be a little bit strong … I don't think it's a 'dark side.' It's
a skill, to be able to build a business from scratch," says Mr. Scrushy,
who is speaking and advising businesses.
To spot dark traits
among co-workers, watch for bullying behavior, says Gary Zeune, founder of The
Pros & The Cons, a speakers' bureau that enlists white-collar criminals to
talk about preventing fraud.
Also, dark
personalities often ingratiate themselves by appearing caring and competent.
Beware of a colleague who "tries to be way too nice for what they're
asking you to do," Mr. Zeune says.
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