dark sidefye

The Dark Side of Personality and

Leadership

Seth M. Spain, Ph.D.School of Management & Center for Leadership Studies,

Binghamton University-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Presented to theBinghamton University First Year Experience

Introduce the concept of personality

characteristics Orient you to the so-called “dark side” of

personality Provide guidance on the interpersonal

perspective on psychology Orient important dark side characteristics in it Orient “good” leadership in it

Provide perspective on failures of leadership Effective vs. successful leaders

Why do managers derail?

Objectives

Personality traits characterize a person’s

typical interpersonal style Typical ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving Relatively enduring over time, vis à vis states

“Bright Side” or Normal-range personality “Paddle your CANOE in the OCEAN”

Dark Side or subclinical personality Not necessarily dysfunctional (for everyday life) “Dark triad” and DSM-IV

What do I mean, “Dark Side”?

Normal-range personality can predict behavior-at-

work Job performance Citizenship behaviors Counterproductive behaviors Leadership Abusive supervision Managerial derailment

The Dark Side seems to be much, much more powerful Twice as potent, even after accounting for normal-range

(Harms, Spain, Hannah, & Hogan, 2011)

Why should you (or anyone) care?

Axis II – Hogan Development Survey – Dark Triad

Subclinical Trait DSM-IV Construct Dark Triad ConstructExcitable BorderlineSkeptical ParanoidMachiavellianism?Cautious AvoidantReserved SchizoidLeisurely Passive-AggressiveBold NarcissisticNarcissismMischievous AntisocialPsychopathyColorful HistrionicImaginative SchizotypalDiligent Obsessive-CompulsiveDutiful Dependent

Table from Spain, Harms, & LeBreton (2014), modified from Harms, Spain, & Hannah, (2011)

Interpersonal Circle

Communion/Nurturance

Dom

inance

Interpersonal Circle: Dark Triad


Dom

inance

Interpersonal Circle: Good leadership?


Dom

inance

Leaders can be either “effective” or

“successful” Ensure tasks get done Get ahead

Only a handful are both

Effective vs. Successful

Leaders can be either “effective” or

“successful” Ensure tasks get done (beat competition) Get ahead (get promoted)

Only a handful are both (10%) Effective leaders

Communicate Manage their teams


Leaders can be either “effective” or “successful”

Ensure tasks get done (beat competition) Get ahead (get promoted)

Only a handful are both (10%) Effective leaders

Communicate Manage their teams

Successful leaders Network Engage in office politics


Destructive Leadership

Rates of managerial incompetence are HIGH (maybe as high as 70%, according to Bob Hogan)

That is just ineffective leadership Here, we’re concerned with leaders who are

basically evil Intent-to-harm (Krasikova, Green, & LeBreton,

2014) Tend to impute hostile motives to others More machiavellian Trait aggressiveness Skeptical/Paranoid

Interpersonal Circle: Dark Triad Reminder


Dom

inance

Narcissists may be more motivated to work

hard to become leaders Want to “be the best” at what they do May be domineering and competitive with

subordinates and peers, though Narcissists can be good at selling ideas

May “poison” the well in long-term relationships, though

Narcissism

Narcissists may be more motivated to work

hard to become leaders May be domineering and competitive with

subordinates, though Narcissists can be good at selling ideas

May “poison” the well in long-term relationships, though

Narcissism



Dom

inance

Narcissist!

Manipulators Liars Good at forming alliances Use lots of social influence tactics (“Protean”)

Engage in office politics Willing to use threats, intimidation Willing to beg and compromise “Do what needs to be done”

Machiavellianism

Manipulators Liars Good at forming alliances Use lots of social influence tactics (“Protean”)

Machiavellianism

Psychopathy

Not prone to feeling guilt or shame Less anxiety than others Impulsive Willing to harm others to succeed



Dom

inance

Psychopath!

The Dark Triad

Narcissism Machiavellianism Psychopathy

Powerfully agentic

Bond, James Bond

The Dark Triad

Narcissism Machiavellianism Psychopathy

Powerfully agentic Puts self ahead of

others “Not a team

player”

Bond, James Bond

Euphemism for “paranoid”

Described as “having a chip on [their] shoulders”

Suspicious People high in skepticism look for—and find!—

ulterior motives in interpersonal interactions Bad for development Bad for team-work

Skeptical



Dom

inance

Paranoid!

Managerial derailment

Time

Occ

upati

onal Le

vel

Managerial derailment

Time

Occ

upati

onal Le

vel

Axed!

Major causes?

Problems with interpersonal relationships Insensitive Demanding Manipulative Authoritarian Aloof Critical Overly cautious Arrogant Volatile Perfectionistic Too eager to please

Major causes?

Problems with interpersonal relationships Insensitive—paranoid , psychopathic Demanding – psychopathic, narcissistic Manipulative—Machiavellian Authoritarian—narcissistic, psychopathic,

Machiavellian Aloof -- Schizoid Critical – paranoid, Overly cautious – Passive-aggressive, Avoidant Arrogant – Narcissistic!!! Volatile – Histrionic, Borderline Perfectionistic – Obsessive Compulsive Too eager to please -- Dependent

To you!

Thanks!

To you! To my six-month old, identical twin daughters,

for sleeping enough to let me do this!

Thanks!

@SethMSpain on Twitter Sethspain.wordpress.com www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-dark-side-

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Leadership & Management