A ‘spotters guide’ to identifying corporate psychopaths
World’s first book on researching psychopathic leaders to be launched in Cambridge
A new handbook is being launched to help identify and study corporate psychopaths – people with psychopathic traits who wield dangerous amounts of power in industry and government.
The Research Handbook on Corporate Psychopaths is the first book of its kind and has been compiled by three editors, including Dr Clive Boddy of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) – a world-leading expert in the field of corporate psychopathy – featuring chapters by authors from across the world.
Around 1% of the adult population are defined as psychopaths, meaning they possess no conscience, shame, guilt, empathy or ability to experience love towards other people. The term corporate psychopath refers to well-performing psychopaths who work in corporate and political settings.
Dr Boddy’s research highlights how corporate psychopaths present a threat to the stability of companies, sectors, and potentially entire economies. From “petty tyrants” to “toxic leaders”, these individuals manipulate, bully, and deceive their way to the top, creating a climate of fear and dysfunction.
In certain industries, such as the financial sector, it is claimed that up to 10% of employees could be psychopathic. This has huge implications for global economies, and the new research handbook is aimed at giving people the tools to identify these individuals who have the potential to cause massive harm.
The handbook, which is being formally launched at an event on ARU’s Cambridge campus, defines and measures the characteristics, behaviours, and impacts of psychopathic individuals from a personal to a societal scale, and presents research to show ways of identifying, managing, and dealing with corporate psychopaths in organisational settings.
“In sectors like corporate finance, certain psychopathic traits are beneficial when someone is climbing the ladder. Psychopaths tend to be charming, ruthless and relentless in their pursuit of money. However, once they get into positions of power, their recklessness and lack of empathy can be incredibly destructive.
“It is vitally important that we empower as many people as we can – particularly HR departments – to identify these individuals. This new book is the most comprehensive of its kind ever written, featuring 29 chapters by 24 experts from around the world, and offers the tools for researchers, companies and organisations to stop corporate psychopaths in their tracks.”
Dr Clive Boddy, Associate Professor in the School of Management at ARUThe Research Handbook on Corporate Psychopaths is being launched at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge on Wednesday, 10 June at 6pm.