This one makes for some insightful reading:
Dr Swart has become a prominent voice in the field of neuroscience, and currently runs her own leadership programme at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as being a visiting professor at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School.
The 43-year-old Londoner worked for seven years in psychiatric medicine after graduating from Oxford University, but around the time of the financial crash decided to change careers to focus on understanding the vagaries of the executive mind – in particular, exploring an apparent connection between psychopathy and those who rise to the top.
There is a spectrum of psychopathic personality disorder and, according to Dr Swart, it is one that we are all on.
Traits such as charisma, fearlessness, ruthlessness, narcissism, persuasiveness and lack of conscience are exhibited by all of us to some extent, although normally they are restricted or countered by empathy. With a true psychopath, there is no such barrier.
- Do they look to deliberately engineer chaos in the workplace?
- Do they step on other people to get what they want?
- Do they make up their mind quickly?
- Do they cope well under pressure?
- Can they accept their own mistakes or will they seek to deflect blame?
- Do you feel able to approach them with an issue that requires empathy on their part?
Two people that tick every box on that list are Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott.
Explains more that a few things.
