SNAKES IN SUITS

While on vacation a couple of months ago I read SNAKES IN SUITS When Psychopaths go to Work by Paul Babiak, Ph.D. and Robert D. Hare, Ph.D. This book is about the presence and behavior of psychopaths high in the ranks of management. The thoughts expressed by the authors are chilling.



The book was mentioned to me by my psychologist last year during a therapy session. It is her view that the impact of psychopaths is a big problem that is getting very little attention. She suspects that a number of her clients may be victims of psychopaths and that her experience may be widespread.

Psychopathy is classified in the DSM-IV as an Antisocial Personality Disorder and the proposed revision for the forthcoming DSM-V is Antisocial/Psychopathic Type. The American Psychiatric Association describes this disorder as follows:

Individuals who match this personality disorder type are arrogant and self-centered, and feel privileged and entitled. They have a grandiose, exaggerated sense of self-importance and they are primarily motivated by self-serving goals. They seek power over others and will manipulate, exploit, deceive, con, or otherwise take advantage of others, in order to inflict harm or to achieve their goals. They are callous and have little empathy for others’ needs or feelings unless they coincide with their own. They show disregard for the rights, property, or safety of others and experience little or no remorse or guilt if they cause any harm or injury to others. They may act aggressively or sadistically toward others in pursuit of their personal agendas and appear to derive pleasure or satisfaction from humiliating, demeaning, dominating, or hurting others. They also have the capacity for superficial charm and ingratiation when it suits their purposes. They profess and demonstrate minimal investment in conventional moral principles and they tend to disavow responsibility for their actions and to blame others for their own failures and shortcomings.

Those of us who have long been active in the field of mental health and mental illness know only too well how such difficulties often marginalize people. But knowing that individuals with very serious personality disorders can thrive in society and appear to be very successful paints a different picture indeed. It will be extremely challenging, probably impossible, to make psychopathy part of the conversation on mental health reform in Canada at this time.

Research on prison populations has shown that psychopaths may constitute 10 to 15 percent of criminals, significantly higher rates than their representation in general society, which is estimated to be about 1 percent. But psychopaths do not necessarily become criminals. Research by the authors of SNAKES IN SUITS found that about 3.5 percent of executives fit the profile of a psychopath. These executives cause problems, hurt people and often contribute very little real benefit to the organizations that employ them.

SNAKES IN SUITS provides the following list of behaviors that may be manifested by psychopaths in a business setting:

• Inability to form a team
• Inability to share
• Disparate treatment of staff
• Inability to tell the truth
• Inability to be modest
• Inability to accept blame
• Inability to act predictably
• Inability to react calmly
• Inability to act without aggression.

SNAKES IN SUITS also provides strategies for defending against psychopaths in the hiring and selection process. This is particularly important because such individuals are masters at presenting themselves as exactly what an organization may be looking for. Typically psychopaths have a well-crafted, impressive narrative about themselves and they often have a powerful, well-positioned patron who has bought their story.

Of course only qualified psychologists or psychiatrists can diagnose a personality disorder. Even for a trained professional, psychopathy is not an easy diagnosis to make. The advice of SNAKES IN SUITS to anyone encountering a suspected psychopath is to stay as far away from them as possible. Any attempt by an ordinary person to engage with a psychopath will almost always make a bad situation worse. I suspect that I have worked with more than one psychopath during my many years in management and in every case the dynamics closely followed the script presented in this most helpful book.