Psychopathic Leadership with Guest Blogger Dr. Killy Pants

Welcome to The Psychometric View. This week, we have a special guest blogger, Dr. Killy Pants, an internationally renowned expert on psychopaths in politics and the workplace, who spends much of her time trying to raise awareness about the dangers posed by these wolves in sheeps’ clothing.  Hello friends. It’s truly an honour to serve as the special, democratically selected guest blogger. I’ve been invited to answer your questions about a topic that, I’m very pleased to see, appears to attract large, juicy audiences from all over the world, that is: psychopaths in positions of power. I notice lots of chirps have been submitted by the fine flocks on the Twitter. Let’s roll up our sleeves, bunch together in unity and solidarity, and chew the fat on the issues that matter to you, the good and wholesome citizens of our democracy.

One of our chirpers, @KrisCrispy, writes in asking “Is Donald Trump a narcissist?” Delicious question, Mr. Crispy. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a recognised mental illness, diagnosed using criteria from the DSM — the manual published by the American Psychiatric Association. As reported by the Atlantic, psychologists are currently archiving videos of Mr. Trump to use in their workshops because, according to one colleague of mine, there’s “no better example” of anyone demonstrating narcissistic characteristics in the public eye. Esteemed Harvard professor and developmental psychologist Howard Gardner describes Trump as “remarkably narcissistic.” I also noted that Sam Vaknin, a recognised expert on the subject of narcissism, reviewed 600 hours of video on trump and concluded that Trump is the most perfect example he has ever come across of a “malignant and, probably, psychopathic narcissist.”

Moving along now to our next randomly selected question, @BigMarco asks: “Is Donald Trump a Psychopath?” I’m lovin’ your question, Big Marco. The term psychopath is often associated with serial killers — of the real variety, like Ted Bundy, and of the fictional variety, like Dexter, Hannibal Lecter, and the colourful clown character from the Gothman television series. While a psychopath is not necessarily someone who has committed mass murder, yet, it’s definitely the personality type you would look for if tasked with picking members for a covert government black ops suicide squad, or so I’ve heard.

Thanks to the efforts of researchers, psychologists, and journalists, there’s now a growing awareness of the danger and prevalence of psychopaths rising to positions of power in business and politics. Only about 1% of the overall population are psychopaths; however, one British journalist reported that this number increases to 4% when it comes to CEOs. Don’t be too alarmed if you work in the corporate sector. The most appropriate and productive response is quiet, controlled terror as you go about your daily work. If you believe you are in the presence of a psychopath, just remember the 5 S’s: Secret Silent Surveillance of the Suspect Sociopath. I recommend anonymously emailing your suspicions to the HR department from a private server, ensuring that you periodically delete the data, as it could really put you in a bind later on.

I notice @JebBeef! has asked about the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath. Succulent question, Mr. Beef. In the recent news, I was struck by comments made by Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter for Donald Trump’s book The Art of the Deal, which you may have heard Trump claim, on more than one occasion, to be the greatest business book of all time. Schwartz spoke out saying he deeply regrets having put “lipstick on a pig” and that if he wrote the book today, he would’ve called it “The Sociopath.” I thought it was interesting that Schwartz used the term sociopath, rather than psychopath. “Which is Trump?” you may find yourself asking. Well, on the one hand, you might be looking at a mentally deranged, carnivorous monster, and on the other hand, a marauding prehistoric T-Rex disguised as a tiny-fingered orange man. I hope that helps to clear up the difference.

Shifting our gaze back to what appears to be a pressing question of concern, many of you want to know how to identify a psychopath. Well, lean in closer, because I have just the solution. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist, developed by the co-author of Snakes in Suits, Robert Hare, is a famous diagnostic tool used to rate a person's psychopathic or antisocial tendencies. Hare’s classic checklist contains 20 items. For each item, an individual can score 0, 1 or 2, making for a total possible score of 40. A score of 30 is considered to be the threshold to qualify as a “psychopath.”

• 1. glib and superficial charm
• 2. grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self
• 3. need for stimulation
• 4. pathological lying
• 5. cunning and manipulativeness
• 6. lack of remorse or guilt
• 7. shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)
• 8. callousness and lack of empathy
• 9. parasitic lifestyle
• 10. poor behavioural controls
• 11. sexual promiscuity
• 12. early behaviour problems
• 13. lack of realistic long-term goals
• 14. impulsivity
• 15. irresponsibility
• 16. failure to accept responsibility for own actions
• 17. many short-term marital relationships
• 18. juvenile delinquency
• 19. revocation of conditional release
• 20. criminal versatility

So there you have it, flocks. Now that you know how to spot a psychopath, you’ll be better equipped to deal with these corporate jungle chameleons. It’s important to be vigilant and stay on the look out for any leaders who display narcissistic or psychopathic tendencies — leaders who might attempt to use their charisma, guile, and hypnotic charm to lure you into a situation where they can make a morsel out of you. For your own safety, I recommend carrying around several copies of the checklist to secretly evaluate how strong or weak people’s psychopathic tendencies are. Stay closest to those who are the weakest or lowest scoring, for the benefit of group support. Also, be sure to keep salt and pepper spray on your body at all times, for extra, mouth-watering security. Stay safe, little lambs. I hope this electronic communication statement will serve you well, or at the very least, medium well, as the case may be.

All the best for a pleasant, puncture free day,

Dr. Killy Pants

End of transmission.