dark side leadership drunks looking for keys under a lamp post?

When the sun sets, shadows that showed at noon but small, appear most long and terrible.

Dark Side Leadership

Drunks looking for keys under a lamp post?

Nathaniel Lee

Reasons to be un-cheerful about Psychology’s evidence base

© AM Azure Consulting Ltd 2014 2

Another fad?

What is new here?

Is Dark Side Leadership

simply another way of

reminding us of what we

already know?

Or does it offer new

insights and

methodologies to make

advances in how we

assess and develop

leaders?


Despite the popularity of

competency models, their

popularity has not been

accompanied by any

leadership renaissance

The dynamics of the causes of

leadership impact and the

effects of organisational

performance have proven

elusive

Exceptional leadership it is

argued is needed to produce

outstanding returns

How do the dynamics of dark

side leadership shape success

and failure?

The dark side to help rethink leadership


Dark side leadership is bad

The global financial crisis was

largely caused by corporate

psychopaths….Measures exist

to identify corporate

psychopaths. Perhaps it is

time to use them.

Clive Boddy


Dark side leadership is necessary

Dark side leadership is key to

how the current system

functions. We need:

A few sociopaths to run the

“system”

The clueless who maintain

the system despite any lack

of loyalty from the system

The losers who just coast

along with enough

discretionary effort


I shot 630 elephants and 63

men, and I regret the elephants

more.

Arthur Jones, Nautilus


Jack Welch at GE: a sociopath who understood the dark side?

Jack Welch’s greatest

genius wasn't in reading a

balance sheet or executing

a business strategy, but

rather in his preternatural

understanding of raw

power.

He knew how to ingratiate

as well as intimidate the

media - to squelch, kill or

chill unflattering portrayals

of him. That meant

rewarding allies and

punishing potential

adversaries.


Dark side leadership may be good

Psychopathy is like sunlight.

Overexposure can hasten one’s

demise in grotesque,

carcinogenic fashion. But

regulated exposure at controlled

and optimal levels can have a

significant positive impact on

well-being and quality of life.”

Psychopathy……is personality

with a tan.

Kevin Dutton, The Wisdom of

Psychopaths

Does dark side leadership

incorporate important

qualities that organisations

value?

The seven deadly wins:

1. ruthlessness

2. charm

3. focus

4. mental toughness

5. fearlessness

6. mindfulness

7. action


Is the dark side a positive predictor of leadership?

Based on prior theory and the

experiences of practitioners, we

hypothesized negative relationships

between the subclinical disorders and

leader development over time. With

regard to this hypothesis, our results

were certainly more ambivalent. …..we

found … positive relationships with

leader development over time and across

multiple dimensions of leadership.

The remaining dimensions had few or

inconsistent effects.

The results require some explanation.

Peter Harms on research

tracking the development of

leadership within West Point

Tunnel vision helps. Being a

bit of a shit helps. A thick skin

helps. Stamina is crucial, as is

a capacity to work so hard that

your best friends mock you,

your lovers despair, and the

rest of your acquaintances

watch furtively from the

sidelines, half in awe and half

in contempt. Luck helps, but

only if you don't seek it.

Felix Dennis, How To Get Rich

Felix Dennis is candid about the dynamics of success


Leadership: business success and failure

One business leader was a

tyrant whose leadership style

“created a culture that

condemned his organisation to

an inevitable fate.”

The other was a visionary and

business genius “who

reshaped entire industries by

the force of his will.”

What made the difference?


The halo effect of business success and failure

Our attributions of success and

failure are shaped by the Halo

Effect

We evaluate the causes of

business outcomes from our

knowledge of the consequences of

what happened; not so much

prediction as post-diction

Our romanticism of leadership

leads us to over-estimate the

impact of leadership in business

success and failure

We continue to make up plausible

narratives as explanations for

success and failure


Do we know the extent of the

problem?

Do we have a “theory”; which

frameworks and constructs seem

more or less useful?

Overview

External selection

Talent management and

succession planning

Implications for practitioners


Are we headed for hell in a hand cart?

A range of “gloomy”

estimates based on

different sources,

with very different

definitions, criteria,

samples and

methodologies


The Chicken Little industry of the consulting business

Is the sky about to fall on our heads?

If these figures are remotely accurate:

■ how does business life continue?

■ did the leadership industry fall asleep

for the last 2 - 3 decades?

Estimates are very much at variance from

other studies, e.g. employee engagement

or 360 feedback data


An interesting study of “bad” leadership

About one-third

rated their bosses

as “failures”

(question mark)

An empirical

investigation of the

antecedents,

behaviours, and

outcomes of bad

leadership

Journal of Leadership

Studies, 2007


An interesting study of “bad” leadership

Maybe the

solution is

easy. Stop:

ignoring the

problem

rewarding bad

behaviour


Impact of dark side leadership: a perspective from succession

In 1996 Enron Chairman Kenneth

Lay agrees a succession plan with

Rich Kinder, his President. He would

remain as Chairman and Kinder

would become CEO.

Rich Kinder falls out with

Kenneth Lay (a combination of

disagreement about the

strategic direction of Enron and

Kinder’s affair with Lay’s PA).

Kinder leaves to form Kinder

Morgan.

Jeff Skilling sees

the succession gap

as his opportunity

and demands to be

made CEO.

Never get yourself in a

position where you

have only one

candidate. It’s too risky.

Jim Robinson, ex CEO American

Express


Do we have a theory of dark side leadership?

The confusion between the ineptitude

of leaders who lack capability vs. the

behaviour of leaders who display

“vices”

The complication that virtue and vice

may be highly inter-connected; the

bright side may have a dark side, and

the dark side may have a bright side

How can we tell the difference?

Is it useful to think of a spectrum of

dark side leadership? A kind of

index that runs from the inept

through to the “asshole” to the

toxic?

Or does dark side leadership come

in any variety of forms? If it does,

why does it seem to cohere within

patterns?

Our virtues are

most frequently but

vices in disguise.

Duc de la Rochefoucauld


Frameworks of dark side leadership

Specific models of psychopathy Hare, Lilienfeld, Paulhus and the Dark Triad (Narcissism, Machiavellianism,

Psychopathy) or Quartet (Sadism)


Personality models Eysenck’s Psychoticism and variations of the Big 5

Ancient wisdom character and an appeal to the seven deadly sins

Sub-clinical models Manfred Kets de Vries and 5 varieties of neurotic leadership: Dramatic,

Suspicious, Detached, Depressive and Compulsive

Hogan Development Survey and 11 maladaptive themes

Nigel Guenole and DSM 5: Negative Emotionality, Detachment,

Antagonism, Disinhibition, Compulsivity, Psychoticism

A variation of a Big 5 model

g: general intelligence vs.

concretistic thinking

n: emotionality, neuroticism,

sensibility, id vs. placidity, stability

e: extraversion, energy, surgency,

eros vs. introversion, gravity

c: conscientiousness, control,

superego vs. impulsivity,

casualness

w: will, independence, ego vs.

subduedness, passivity, affability

a: affection, idealism vs. tough-

mindedness, cynicism, thanatos

The Scientific Study of

Human Nature, Edited by Helmuth Nyborg


a

e

c

g

n

w

Dark side leadership as permutations of personality traits?


high w, low a, low c

low n

Fearless Dominance

high n

Self-Centred Impulsivity

low g

Reckless Idiot

low g

Dangerous Fool high g

Confident Risk

Taker

high g

Charismatic Doer

FT interviews with 60 CEOs

Describing their dark sides, 58 of the

60 admit weaknesses that are really

strengths, e.g. impatience,

perfectionism 1. Control freakery

2. Vanity

3. Dithering

4. Poor listening

5. Bullying

6. Fear of conflict

7. Lack of small talk

The three worst traits of

chief executives are: a

lack of self knowledge, a

lack of self knowledge

and a quite extraordinary

willingness to give

themselves the benefit

of the doubt.

Lucy Kellaway, FT


Lucy Kellaway’s 7 deadly sins

Vices as re-interpreted as virtues

1. Control freakery: accepting the buck stops with

me

2. Vanity: projecting pride in my company’s

achievements

3. Dithering: caution to assess decision options

carefully

4. Poor listening: simply managing information

load

5. Bullying: abruptness to tackle bad behaviour

6. Fear of conflict: civility and courtesy to maintain

interpersonal harmony

7. Lack of small talk: cutting to the chase in a busy

world


Vices & Virtues Scale (VAVS) and the Dark Triad


Machiavellianism Narcissism Psychopathy

Veselka et al, The Dark Triad and the seven deadly

sins. Personality & Individual Differences, 2014

Patterns across different frameworks of dark side leadership

Douglas et al, 2012, “Distinguishing the

Dark Triad: Evidence from the Five-Factor

Model and the Hogan Development Survey”

Dark Triad measures of Narcissism,

Machiavellianism and Psychopathy

Hogan Development Survey

Measure of Big 5

Dark Triad constructs were highly related

but sort of “distinguishable”; all associated

with high aggression and low empathy

Substantial correlations across Primary

(callous, selfish and manipulative) and

Secondary (impulse emotional instability)

Psychopathy and Big 5

Factor analysis:

1. Emotional reactivity of aggression and

paranoia

2. Extraverted narcissistic risk taking

3. Antagonistic anti-social behaviour

4. Inflexible conscientious compulsiveness


How do we decide which framework to use?

Coherence: is the model a simple listing of dimensions? Or

does the framework make the connections between context,

causes and consequences? The right amount of elegance

Insight: how much insight does it provide? Is the framework

largely descriptive or does it offer explanatory power that goes

beyond description to provide an understanding of causal

dynamics? The right amount of explanation

Pragmatism: can it be used practically within organisational

life with applications for assessment and development? Or will

the constructs and associated terminology be off putting to end

users? The right amount of relevance

Impact: will it improve organisational decision making? Not in

principle in the abstract but in practical gains of business

benefit. The right amount of utility


CONTEXT

When does the theory

work?

Under which specific

circumstances?

With which

individuals?

CAUSES

How does the theory

work?

How simple or

complex is the causal

mechanism?

How elaborate is the

causal sequence?

CONSEQUENCES

What outcomes are

predicted from the

theory?

What is the size of the

effect?

How sustainable are the

outcomes?

What does any decent theory look like?


The context of dark side leadership

Strategic Structural Cultural

■ Bold and

adventurous

aspirations for

growth

■ Intense competition

■ Fast moving change,

complexity and

uncertainty

■ Weak regulation and

lax enforcement of

financial and

professional

standards

■ Incentive systems

■ Complexity of

business model

■ Lack of diversity within

the senior

management team

■ Low levels of technical

expertise

■ Inadequate systems

for corporate

governance and risk

assessment

■ Hierarchical operating

model

■ Individualistic

■ Compliance based on

fear

■ Arrogance


The causes of dark side leadership

Power and its effect on leadership and

the toxic tandem with followership

Stress and imbalances with personal

and working life

Early life experiences and unresolved

issues (e.g. family dynamics)

Exposure to specific triggers (e.g. role

models of success and failure)

Personality traits

Values and motivations and mind-sets

(e.g. sense of entitlement)

When you give people

power they basically start

acting like fools.

Dacher Keltner


Last Friday night, I Twitted a photograph of myself that I intended to send as a direct message as part of a joke to a woman in Seattle. Once I realized I posted to Twitter I panicked, I took it down and said that I had been hacked. I then continued with that story which was a hugely regrettable mistake.

Anthony Weiner

The consequences of dark side leadership

Personal consequences:

At best: the “degrees of freedom” to

perform and progress

At worst: risk of career derailment and

any number of life disruptions

Organisational outcomes:

The possession of

psychopathic traits has

proved a useful passport

to high office.

Norman Dixon

At worst:

the loss of talent that has the

capability and character to achieve

for the long run

counter-productive work behaviours

and absent citizenship

a toxic impact on corporate culture

with a knock on effect on productivity

and innovation

distorted strategic decision

making


Why do organisations make bad strategic decisions?

They fail to manage two difficult tensions:

Pushing into the market vs.

creating a viable organisational

infrastructure

Grasping the opportunities of

change vs. benefiting from the

gains of consolidation


Business Challenges: integrating strategy and capability

ARCHITECT: redefining the

organisation infrastructure to create

new operating methods and practices;

exploiting technological capability to

create new organisational structures,

systems and operating styles

TROUBLE-SHOOTER: identifying and

removing unproductive and inefficient

business function; tackling those

business activities which are no longer

contributing to corporate performance

REGULATOR: focusing attention on

the efficiency and consistency of all

internal processes; applying financial

discipline and administrative control

over organisational activity to gain

improved levels of efficiency

INTEGRATOR: raising the overall skill

level of the work-force through focusing

resources on training, development,

recognition and reward; raising levels of

staff capability and motivation to

improve organisational loyalty and pride

VISIONARY: planning next generation

products and services to formulate an

innovative business strategy; developing new

business concepts which redefine the rules of

business success

EXPLORER: investigating opportunities to

break into new markets in pursuit of a

diversification strategy; developing

relationships with other key players in the

industry to explore scope for alliances and

joint ventures

BUILDER: translating business strategy into

sales and marketing priorities; reviewing the

customer service delivery process for areas of

improvement; exploiting the organisation’s

customer-base through attention to sales and

marketing activity

LOBBYIST: representing the organisation’s

interests across the wider business community

to improve corporate image; planning a

programme of corporate communication which

gains greater influence and freedom of

manoeuvre for the organisation © AM Azure Consulting Ltd 2014 34

Business Challenges as leadership mind-set

Connecting strategic choices to

organisational capability to

leadership effectiveness

Assumption:

Strategic decision making is not

just a rational exercise to identify

the basis of competitive

advantage.

But is shaped by the mind-sets of

the decision makers and their:

Functional expertise and

experience

Exposure to business success

and failure

Motivational and personality

traits


Understanding and

addressing the assumptions

management is making

about its industry and the

business’s relative position

in the industry is

crucial….the sheer logic of

strategic choice is not

enough; it will not be

convincing if it ignores

management’s assumptions.

Michael Porter

Business Challenges and Hogan Development Survey

ARCHITECT

TROUBLE-SHOOTER

Less Imaginative

More Sceptical and

Diligent

REGULATOR

More Diligent, Reserved

and Cautious

Less Colourful and

Imaginative

INTEGRATOR

Less Bold

More Dutiful

VISIONARY

Less Mischievous and

Sceptical

EXPLORER

More Colourful, Bold and

Mischievous

Less Cautious and Diligent

BUILDER

More Imaginative

Less Cautious

LOBBYIST

More Colourful

Less Sceptical © AM Azure Consulting Ltd 2014 36

Implications


Character

the values and attributes

which provide leadership

purpose and meaning for the

longer-term

Career Management

self management and political

savvy to navigate through

organisational realities

Credibility

background credentials and

connections to build

confidence as a potential

leader

Capability

the functions, tasks and skills

to be deployed to meet the

problems of leadership and to

be effective

External recruitment

Talent and succession planning

Somebody once said that in

looking for people to hire,

you look for integrity,

intelligence, and energy.

And if you don’t have the

first, the other two will kill

you. If you hire somebody

without integrity, you really

want them to be dumb and

lazy.

Warren Buffett

The challenge of self report

A dramatic increase in research and literature on

faking: the “volitional attempt at increasing

scores on personality assessment to obtain a

desired outcome.”

Going from:

Can applicants fake?

Do they fake?

Does it matter?

To now ask:

Who fakes?

Why do some fake?

When do applicants fake?

Under which circumstances is it more or less a

problem?


Solutions to faking

Proactive

Use of warnings in

instructions

Questionnaire design

subtle and non transparent item

content

alternative formats such as

forced choice


Reactive

Social desirability response scales

to detect faking

applying any number of tactics e.g.

scale correction, applicant exclusion

Bogus items and over-claiming

technique

Social Desirability Response

scales…not a valid proxy

measure for faking

behaviour…. usage should be

discontinued.

D L Paulhus

Faking and dark side leadership

Dark side leaders not only fake

but can fake successfully to

avoid “detection”


Given the manipulative nature of

psychopathy, it was predicted, and

found, that respondents who

successfully faked good would have

significantly higher psychopathy scores

than individuals who were caught faking.

Book et al, Psychopathic traits and

experimentally induced deception in self-report

assessment, 2006

Respondents successful at faking good

scored higher than unsuccessful fakers

on factors of Machiavellian egocentricity

and blame externalization and lower on

stress immunity..

MacNeil & Holden, 2006

Unobtrusive measures of dark side leadership


It has long been an axiom of mine that

the little things are infinitely the most

important.

Sherlock Holmes

Company reports and press releases

Office décor and artefacts

The language used

Awards and success

Reactions to the small annoyances of life

The books read, recommended and

written

Robert Horton, then boss of

BP... the main thing to be

displayed on the

bookshelves were his own

leather bound dairies

stretching back 10 years or

more. My conclusion about

him: overbearing and out of

touch. Within months, he

was fired from BP for being

overbearing and out of touch. Lucy Kellaway

Snoopology in the office


Fred Goodwin’s Brave heart sword


The language used

I am soft, I'm lovable but

what I really want to do is

reach in, rip out their heart

and eat it before they die.

Dick Fuld, Chairman and Chief

Executive Officer of Lehman

Brothers


Reactions to the small stuff: the biscuit test

The best index to a

person's character is how

he treats people who can't

do him any good, and how

he treats people who can't

fight back.

Abigail Van Buren

Talent management and succession planning


Sociopaths, in their own

best interests, knowingly

promote over-performing

losers into middle-

management, groom

under-performing losers

into sociopaths, and leave

the average bare-

minimum-effort losers to

fend for themselves.

Venkatesh Rao

The nine-box

category system is

crude and clumsy. Adrian Furnham

Who conducts the assessment, using

which methods?

top down, largely based on the personal

judgement of the top team?

line management evaluations?

HR driven, drawing on additional data

(e.g. assessment centres)?

bottom up in which individuals complete

career profiles?

the process of data consolidation and

integration to summarise talent

intelligence

the choice of technology

How is talent data used in decision

making and action planning?

processes for review, debrief and

development planning

optimising the impact of talent reviews

and career conversations

What frameworks are in place to inform

the judgements and decisions we make

about individuals?

the factors that are key to the

organisational “model of success”

how the outputs of past success are

integrated with the inputs of future

success

Rigour in talent management and succession planning

Conclusions


Dark side leadership seems to incorporate

both potential vices and virtues

But knowing what makes the difference – the upside and downside – is proving more troublesome

Its prevalence is over-stated, but its impact can be devastating to businesses

Do the obvious to deal with emerging signs

If a business needs the virtues of the dark side, it should be prepared to manage it very well

Self report measures can be problematic; but we can look for other clues

Succession and talent management processes need more rigour to go beyond line management ratings of the “potential” of the good guys

dark side leadership drunks looking for keys under a lamp post?

Leadership & Management