Can Your Board Identify Psychopathic Traits in Potential C-Suite Candidates? Here’s Why It Should
Selecting the right C-suite candidate goes beyond resumes and references. Boards need to look for hidden Dark Triad traits like narcissism and psychopathy that can affect executive effectiveness and team culture.
What if a charismatic, seemingly perfect candidate for a top leadership role harbors hidden tendencies that could undermine your company’s culture, profitability, and even its ethics? It's more common than you might think. Increasingly, boards are recognizing that certain psychological traits—known as the Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy)—are alarmingly prevalent among corporate leaders, with the potential to wreak havoc if left unchecked.
Why Are Dark Triad Traits a Concern in Leadership?
Leaders with high levels of the Dark Triad traits often excel at hiding their true nature. These individuals can project confidence, charm, and success while harboring tendencies toward manipulation, ruthlessness, and a lack of empathy—qualities that make them dangerous for organizational health. For a board tasked with selecting a new CEO, understanding and identifying these characteristics can be pivotal in making the right decision.
While insider promotions offer the advantage of years of observation and evaluation of a candidate’s behaviors and interpersonal skills, external hires present a unique challenge. Outside candidates don’t come with years of in-house scrutiny, and their true personality may be masked under a polished presentation and a series of impressive achievements. These challenges raise a critical question: how can boards ensure they’re not inadvertently handing the reins to someone whose traits could be harmful?
Through careful, strategic vetting, there are ways to increase the odds of accurately assessing an external candidate’s character. Here are five critical steps boards can use to dig beneath the surface.
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1. Verify All Credentials and Achievements Meticulously
Leaders with psychopathic tendencies tend to be adept at fabricating or exaggerating achievements to build an idealized image of themselves. For boards considering an external candidate, this means one thing: verify every claim. Request and verify official documents, such as degrees and certifications, directly from the issuing institutions. For prior achievements, delve into factual, quantitative evidence of success, as psychopaths often fabricate spectacular successes that are hard to substantiate.
For example, if a candidate boasts about increasing revenue significantly at a previous company, obtain concrete financial records if possible, or speak directly to colleagues who can confirm the accuracy of these claims. The moment you find inconsistencies, consider it a warning sign that may warrant deeper investigation into the candidate’s honesty and integrity.
2. Seek Insights from Extended Relationships
Psychopaths often thrive in short-term engagements, where they can make a strong impression before their true nature becomes apparent. Look closely at the candidate’s professional history for patterns of frequent movement or short tenures at multiple companies. Seek candid feedback from people at these previous workplaces, focusing on why the candidate left and how their colleagues perceived their leadership style.
Extended relationships are harder to manipulate over time, which is why securing insights from people who interacted with the candidate for several years is essential. Patterns of conflict or abrupt exits are often a red flag, suggesting that the candidate may struggle to maintain positive relationships over the long term.
3. Evaluate Performance in Structured Environments
Leaders with psychopathic traits often excel in loosely structured, high-autonomy environments where rules can be bent, and hierarchies bypassed. However, they may struggle in settings with strict regulations and accountability, such as the military or highly bureaucratic organizations. Assessing how a candidate performed in more regulated environments can provide insight into their adaptability and ability to work within constraints. This can be a useful barometer, as structured settings demand compliance, teamwork, and accountability—traits that clash with the tendencies of the Dark Triad.
Consider how the candidate responds when faced with detailed policies, a strong ethical framework, and organizational oversight. Leaders who adapt well in structured settings are often more trustworthy and cooperative than those who prefer looser, less accountable environments.
4. Gather Feedback from Former Subordinates and Peers
One common trait among individuals with psychopathic tendencies is their “kiss up, kick down” approach, where they charm those above them in hierarchy but mistreat or disregard subordinates. Former subordinates and peers are often the best sources for a balanced view of a candidate’s character and leadership style.
Subordinates can shed light on whether the candidate fosters a supportive, inclusive environment or, conversely, an atmosphere of fear and manipulation. Although obtaining genuine feedback from former subordinates may require persistence and diplomacy, it is often where the most revealing insights come to light. Persistent negative feedback about a candidate’s empathy, ethics, or collaboration style from lower-level employees should be given significant weight.
5. Invest in Personality Assessments with an Expert
Finally, a board should consider investing in independent, comprehensive personality assessments conducted by a trained expert. Such assessments are designed to evaluate traits like empathy, resilience, and ethical judgment—qualities that are often lacking in leaders with Dark Triad tendencies. A psychologist or other professional skilled in spotting these personality traits can often detect subtle cues that others may overlook.
Having an expert on board is particularly valuable because psychopaths are highly adept at reading others and presenting themselves in a way that aligns with others' expectations. An expert familiar with these traits can evaluate the candidate in diverse situations, where personality slips or inconsistencies may appear. With expertise and a controlled assessment, it’s possible to gain a clearer view of the person behind the mask.
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Concluding Thoughts: The Stakes of Leadership Choice
Choosing a CEO is the single most impactful decision a board of directors will make. When handled with insufficient rigor, the wrong choice can cost an organization millions, damage its reputation, and drive away talent. It’s crucial to balance impressive qualifications and charisma with a genuine understanding of a candidate’s character. By adopting a strategy that includes thorough verification, extensive feedback, and professional psychological assessment, boards can better ensure they are choosing leaders who will steer the organization ethically and responsibly.
In an era where success is often celebrated without examining the behaviors behind it, boards need to lead with discernment, selecting leaders who not only drive results but also uphold the integrity and values of their organization. By understanding and recognizing psychopathic traits, boards can protect their companies from the risks these personalities may bring, securing a healthier future for their organizations and the people who work within them.
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