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I’m Not a Psychopath, I Just Talk and Act Like One
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tainly will receive day parole (free by day, locked up at night) after
five months and full parole after ten months.
No doubt, the convicted executives of Enron, Tyco, and World
Com wish they had committed their crimes in Canada, or at least
were Canadian citizens.
In our original research working with almost 200 high-potential
executives, we found about 3.5 percent who fit the profile of the psychopath
as measured on the PCL: SV (pages 26–28). While this may
not seem like a large percentage, it is considerably higher than that
found in the general population (1 percent), and perhaps more than
most businesses would want to have on their payrolls, especially as
these individuals were on the road to becoming leaders in their organizations.
Of these individuals, we found that all had the traits of
the manipulative psychopath: superficial, grandiose, deceitful, impulsive,
irresponsible, not taking responsibility for their own actions,
and lacking goals, remorse, and empathy. Of these individuals, two
exhibited bullying, as well. From the cases we have reviewed from
others in the field, as well as from readers, this level of incidence
seems correct.
The average PCL: SV score for the corporate psychopaths was
19 (out of a top score of 24), which is well within the research range
for psychopathy. In evaluating these findings, it is important to note
that scores at this level indicate the presence of enough psychopathic
features to be problematic for the organization.
Mistaking Psychopathic Traits for Good Leadership
Early research by psychologists and psychiatrists suggested that the
behaviors of most psychopaths were too dysfunctional to make longterm
survival in organizations possible and that they might be better
suited to work on their own or in some other career. But based on our