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164 SNAKES IN SUITS
The Pretenders
Would someone with a psychopathic personality, turned off by earning
an honest living in general, even be interested in joining one of
these transitioning companies? Unfortunately, the answer we found
is yes, as organizations have become more psychopath friendly in recent
years. Rapid business growth, increased downsizing, frequent
reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures have inadvertently
increased the number of attractive employment opportunities
for individuals with psychopathic personalities—without the
need for them to correct or change their psychopathic attitudes and
behaviors.
What is it about these new organizations that make them so attractive
to psychopaths? First, these “entrepreneurial pretenders”
find change personally stimulating. Their thrill-seeking nature draws
them to situations where a lot is happening and happening quickly.
Second, being consummate rule breakers, they find the increased
freedom to act to their liking. These pretenders capitalize on the lessened
reliance on rules and policies and the increased need for freeform
decision making that characterize organizations in a chaotic
state. Third, as opportunists, they take advantage of others in ways
that are not always obvious. In particular, the opportunity to get a
leadership or management position is extremely attractive because
these positions offer the psychopaths a chance to exert power and
control over people and resources, they tend not to require involvement
in the details, and they command larger-than-average salaries.
Because a leader’s ability to get people to do things is often of more
importance than his or her technical capabilities to perform work
tasks, pretenders lacking in real work expertise are not disadvantaged;
their talents are assumed and their phony or exaggerated backgrounds
often accepted at face value.