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Pawns, Patrons, and Patsies
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izational influence, posed little threat, and had no perceived value to
the psychopaths, were not as carefully finessed.
Certainly, it is not unusual for individuals to be liked by some
and disliked by others. This is as true at work as it is at home or
school. But in an organization, there is usually a majority point of
view based on a specific, identifiable organizational issue such as a
turf battle, and a minority view based on a personal issue such as
envy. Normal political battling rarely surfaces in so clear and intense
a form as it does with a psychopath. Clearly, the detractors despised
these individuals, and the supporters almost worshipped them. It was
as if employees were describing two entirely different people. In a
great number of these situations, it seemed that the psychopath
could switch from warm and friendly to cold, distant, and almost
hostile depending on with whom they were interacting.
Abandonment and Confrontation
Exposure to the other side of the psychopathic personality increases
in proportion to the decline in the utility of the pawns. As the psychopath
no longer has a need to maintain the façade for these individuals,
psychopaths will generally abandon those whose utility is
spent. But abandonment does not always lead to realization that one
has been used or conned. For example, blindness to this reality might
be reflected in the perceptions of an investor who still believes in the
good intentions of an exposed scamster, despite having lost his life
savings. How might this play out in organizational life?
In organizations, pawns are eventually abandoned, in both the
social sense—the psychopath no longer associates with them—and
the psychological sense—the friendship generated as part of the psychopathic
bond turns cold. But because the psychopath is now working
in an organization and cannot run away from the scene of the
crime, abandonment becomes more obvious to those affected, as well
as to those around them. This dramatic shift from friendly coworker