I recently read "One: the Art and Practice of Conscious Leadership by Lance Secretan," and found a number of things he has to say interesting, but I think the most surprising thing I found was the definition of a "Psychopath" and how it correlates to leadership. Since my book has gone astray, I turned to the Wikipedia definition and listing of factors in determining if one is truly a psychopath:
Factor1: "Aggressive narcissism"
- Glibness/superficial charm
- Grandiose sense of self-worth
- Pathological lying
- Cunning/manipulative
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Shallow affect
- Callous/lack of empathy
- Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
- Promiscuous sexual behavior
Factor2: "Socially deviant lifestyle"
- Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
- Parasitic lifestyle
- Poor behavioral control
- Lack of realistic, long-term goals
- Impulsivity
- Irresponsibility
- Juvenile delinquency
- Early behavior problems
- Many short-term marital relationships
- Revocation of conditional release
Traits not correlated with either factor
- Many short-term marital relationships
- Criminal versatility
So, when you look at that list, do you fit into any of those categories? Does your boss?
The question I posed to my mastermind group when discussing this issue is in athletics, do we condition players to become psychopaths? Do coaches inflate certain players "self worth?" Do we encourage players to be cunning and manipulative in order to "psych" the other team out? Do we foster a "lack of remorse or guilt" when we encourage aggression on the field without remorse that you could have caused serious injury? What about "failure to accept responsibility for our own actions?" Have you ever seen a player commit a foul and then deny it or appear shocked or surprised when called for it? I won't go into the sexual promiscuity or marital behavior, but take a look at pro sports....enough said.
How about in business, do we do that same things? Do we encourage those who have been manipulative to get what they want? Do we reward them? Do we reward salespeople who make the sale at any cost?
Which leads me to Politics. I try to not show a favoritism here, but let's take a look at all of the candidates and their campaigns over the past several months. What do you think?
Are you voting for a psychopath?