Dark Side of Personality and Leadership (FYE)

1. Seth M. Spain, Ph.D. School of Management & Center for Leadership Studies, Binghamton University ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Presented to the Binghamton University First Year Experience

2. Seth M. Spain, Ph.D. School of Management & Center for Leadership Studies, Binghamton University ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Presented to the Binghamton University First Year Experience

3. Objectives   Introduce the concept of personality characteristics  Orient you to the so-called “dark side” of personality  Provide guidance on the interpersonal perspective on psychology  Orient important dark side characteristics in it  Orient “good” leadership in it  Provide perspective on failures of leadership  Effective vs. successful leaders  Why do managers derail?

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8. What do I mean, “Dark Side”?   Personality traits characterize a person’s typical interpersonal style  Typical ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving  Relatively enduring over time, vis à vis states  “Bright Side” or Normal-range personality  “Paddle your CANOE in the OCEAN”  Dark Side or subclinical personality  Not necessarily dysfunctional (for everyday life)  “Dark triad” and DSM-IV

9. Why should you (or anyone) care?   Normal-range personality can predict behavior-at-work  Job performance  Citizenship behaviors  Counterproductive behaviors  Leadership  Abusive supervision  Managerial derailment  The Dark Side seems to be much, much more powerful  Twice as potent, even after accounting for normal-range (Harms, Spain, Hannah, & Hogan, 2011)

10. Axis II – Hogan Development Survey – Dark Triad  Subclinical Trait DSM-IV Construct Dark Triad Construct Excitable Borderline Skeptical Paranoid Machiavellianism? Cautious Avoidant Reserved Schizoid Leisurely Passive-Aggressive Bold Narcissistic Narcissism Mischievous Antisocial Psychopathy Colorful Histrionic Imaginative Schizotypal Diligent Obsessive-Compulsive Dutiful Dependent Table from Spain, Harms, & LeBreton (2014), modified from Harms, Spain, & Hannah, (2011)

13. Interpersonal Circle Communion/ Nurturance Dominance

14. Interpersonal Circle: Dark Triad  Communion/ Nurturance Dominance

15. Interpersonal Circle: Good leadership?  Communion/ Nurturance Dominance

16. Effective vs. Successful   Leaders can be either “effective” or “successful”  Ensure tasks get done  Get ahead  Only a handful are both

17. Effective vs. Successful   Leaders can be either “effective” or “successful”  Ensure tasks get done (beat competition)  Get ahead (get promoted)  Only a handful are both (10%)  Effective leaders  Communicate  Manage their teams

18. Effective vs. Successful   Leaders can be either “effective” or “successful”  Ensure tasks get done (beat competition)  Get ahead (get promoted)  Only a handful are both (10%)  Effective leaders  Communicate  Manage their teams  Successful leaders  Network  Engage in office politics

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23. Destructive Leadership   Rates of managerial incompetence are HIGH (maybe as high as 70%, according to Bob Hogan)  That is just ineffective leadership  Here, we’re concerned with leaders who are basically evil  Intent-to-harm (Krasikova, Green, & LeBreton, 2014)  Tend to impute hostile motives to others  More machiavellian  Trait aggressiveness  Skeptical/Paranoid

24. Interpersonal Circle: Dark Triad Reminder  Communion/ Nurturance Dominance

25.   Narcissists may be more motivated to work hard to become leaders  Want to “be the best” at what they do  May be domineering and competitive with subordinates and peers, though  Narcissists can be good at selling ideas  May “poison” the well in long-term relationships, though Narcissism

26.   Narcissists may be more motivated to work hard to become leaders  May be domineering and competitive with subordinates, though  Narcissists can be good at selling ideas  May “poison” the well in long-term relationships, though Narcissism

27.   Narcissists may be more motivated to work hard to become leaders  May be domineering and competitive with subordinates, though  Narcissists can be good at selling ideas  May “poison” the well in long-term relationships, though Narcissism

28. Interpersonal Circle  Communion/ Nurturance Dominance Narcissist!

29. Machiavellianism   Manipulators  Liars  Good at forming alliances  Use lots of social influence tactics (“Protean”)  Engage in office politics  Willing to use threats, intimidation  Willing to beg and compromise  “Do what needs to be done”

30. Machiavellianism   Manipulators  Liars  Good at forming alliances  Use lots of social influence tactics (“Protean”)

31. Machiavellianism   Manipulators  Liars  Good at forming alliances  Use lots of social influence tactics (“Protean”)

32. Psychopathy   Not prone to feeling guilt or shame  Less anxiety than others  Impulsive  Willing to harm others to succeed

33. Psychopathy   Not prone to feeling guilt or shame  Less anxiety than others  Impulsive  Willing to harm others to succeed

34. Interpersonal Circle  Communion/ Nurturance Dominance Psychopath!

35. Bond, James Bond   The Dark Triad  Narcissism  Machiavellianism  Psychopathy  Powerfully agentic

36. Bond, James Bond   The Dark Triad  Narcissism  Machiavellianism  Psychopathy  Powerfully agentic  Puts self ahead of others  “Not a team player”

37. Bond, James Bond   The Dark Triad  Narcissism  Machiavellianism  Psychopathy  Powerfully agentic  Puts self ahead of others  “Not a team player”

38. Skeptical   Euphemism for “paranoid”  Described as “having a chip on [their] shoulders”  Suspicious  People high in skepticism look for—and find!— ulterior motives in interpersonal interactions  Bad for development  Bad for team-work

39. Skeptical   Euphemism for “paranoid”  Described as “having a chip on [their] shoulders”  Suspicious  People high in skepticism look for—and find!— ulterior motives in interpersonal interactions  Bad for development  Bad for team-work

40. Interpersonal Circle  Communion/ Nurturance Dominance Paranoid!

41. Managerial derailment  Time Occupational Level

42. Managerial derailment  Time Occupational Level Axed!

43. Managerial derailment  Time Occupational Level Axed!

44. Major causes?   Problems with interpersonal relationships  Insensitive  Demanding  Manipulative  Authoritarian  Aloof  Critical  Overly cautious  Arrogant  Volatile  Perfectionistic  Too eager to please

45. Major causes?   Problems with interpersonal relationships  Insensitive—paranoid , psychopathic  Demanding – psychopathic, narcissistic  Manipulative—Machiavellian  Authoritarian—narcissistic, psychopathic, Machiavellian  Aloof -- Schizoid  Critical – paranoid,  Overly cautious – Passive-aggressive, Avoidant  Arrogant – Narcissistic!!!  Volatile – Histrionic, Borderline  Perfectionistic – Obsessive Compulsive  Too eager to please -- Dependent

46.   To you! Thanks!

47. Thanks!   To you!  To my six-month old, identical twin daughters, for sleeping enough to let me do this!

48. Follow   @SethMSpain on Twitter  Sethspain.wordpress.com www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-dark-side-work