By Erica Pinsky

One of the most encouraging findings with respect to workplace bullying is the evidence that establishes the effectiveness of coaching in shifting the behaviour of individuals who routinely engage in disrespectful, power based behaviours. The exception would be that small percentage of individuals — one per cent within the general population — who can be classified as psychopaths; individuals who are incapable of changing their behaviour because they lack empathy and feel no remorse or guilt regardless of what they say or do.

Until recently, I assumed that we would find that same small percentage reflected in our workplaces.  Apparently I was wrong.  According to research by Dr. Robert Hare, the Canadian psychologist who co-authored Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths go to Work, the likelihood of finding a psychopath in your senior leadership team is four times higher than within the general population.

Contemporary corporate culture, particularly within the financial services industry, provides the ideal environment for psychopaths; excessively narcissistic individuals who mimic rather than feel emotions, who lie, cheat, steal or harm with no feeling of remorse. Drawn to position and power, they are welcomed into  a workplace cleverly disguised as the  “turnaround” guy.  “Psychopaths are great bullies. They are cunning and manipulative, and great at engineering situations. Although they don’t have emotions themselves, they can create emotional situations. The rest of us don’t even realize we’re being manipulated until it’s too late.”¹

Paul Babiak, a New York industrial psychologist and Hare’s co-author, believes that today’s turbulent and challenging economic reality is creating “golden times for cold, career opportunists like psychopaths.”   For over 16 years,  Babiak has been documenting the damage and destruction these manipulative risk takers  cause to corporate culture, morale, teamwork, employee health and turnover, costs which  are rarely reflected in what gets captured in bottom line results.  He is now concerned about a new danger to companies who allow these individuals to infiltrate their ranks.

Corporate crime is on the rise. A November 2011 report by Price, Waterhouse Coopers shows a 13 per cent increase in global economic crime since its 2009 world survey and an average cost per company of $5 million. And most of the crimes are inside jobs: 56 per cent of companies say the offenders were employees. ²

HR professionals who want to ensure their workplaces avoid the destructive and costly outcomes that result from inadvertently hiring or harbouring a psychopath should do the following:

1 – Develop a list of values based leadership competencies and ensure that every leader is hired and evaluated on the basis of those competencies.

2 – Have rigorous and thorough hiring practices that mirror those routinely used by Employers of Choice (Chapter 5 in Road to Respect).  Structure multiple interviews with a host of different individuals, including those that the new leader will be supervising.  Include questions or scenario-based exercises that will allow you to assess  the moral and ethical behaviours  of prospective incumbents. Be rigorous in your reference checks, particularly if the individual has been moving from one company to another.  Don’t just speak to someone in HR, speak to individuals that worked directly with and for the prospective incumbent.

3 – Build relationships across organizational power lines. The most effective way to expose a psychopath, or a leader who engages in power based bullying behaviour is through intentional relationship development.  Adopt 360 degree feedback tools so that every leader‘s behaviour will be assessed and evaluated by those that report to them, as well as those in other departments that they interact with.  A flatter organizational structure with a myriad of respectful cross-hierarchical, cross-functional and cross-departmental relationships will ensure that bad behaviour has nowhere to hide.

We are currently witnessing just what psychopaths are capable of in the tragedy unfolding in Syria.  Structures that allow for concentration of power encourage its abuse.  Take proactive steps now to ensure that psychopathy is not the path to success in your workplace.

^1,2 Bad bosses: The Psycho-path to Success? Kevin Voigt, CNN, January 20, 2012 http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/19/business/psychopath-boss/index.html

Erica Pinsky will be presenting Workplace Police or Workplace Connector: Facilitate Change with Personal Power at BC HRMA’s 50^th Annual Conference and Tradeshow in Vancouver on April 25-27, 2012. For more information, please visit www.bchrma.org/conf2012.

Erica Pinsky M.Sc, CHRP, is a respectful workplace solutions expert and author of the highly acclaimed book Road to Respect: Path to Profit (How to Become an Employer of Choice by Building a Respectful Workplace Culture). A provocative and inspirational speaker, trainer, author and consultant she works with business to build respectful workplace cultures that attract and retain top talent in an environment free from discrimination, harassment, bullying and destructive conflict. Contact her at 604-266-1267, Erica@ericapinskyinc.ca, or www.ericapinskyinc.ca.