Belinda Board, a clinical psychologist at the University of Surrey compared the character traits of high-ranking business executives, psychiatric patients and criminals with histories of mental health problems.
What she found was…drum roll, please…the business leaders were just as likely as the prison and psychiatric subjects to display traits associated with narcissistic personality disorder such as:
- grandiosity
- lack of empathy
- exploitativeness
- independence
And traits associated with compulsive personality disorder:
- stubbornness
- dictatorial tendencies
- perfectionism
- excessive devotion to work
The business people were significantly more likely to display traits associated with histrionic personality disorder:
- superficial charm
- insincerity
- egocentricity
- manipulativeness
Wait; it’s not all bad. Business leaders were significantly less likely to exhibit:
- physical aggression
- irresponsibility with work and finances
- lack of remorse
- impulsiveness
Board concludes that a touch of egocentricity, a taste of grandiosity, a smidgen of manipulativeness and a faint lack of empathy may propel a person up the corporate ladder AND make that person horrible to work with. Then, she says, "Add a bit more of those characteristics plus lack of remorse and physical aggression, and you have someone who ends up behind bars."
Other than that, business leaders are universally adored.
On that happy note we offer another list for our mutual consideration. The fruit of the Spirit is:
- love
- joy
- peace
- patience
- kindness
- goodness
- faithfulness
- gentleness
- self control [Galatians 5:22,23]
- Do you think it’s possible to climb the corporate ladder with a character dominated by the traits in the fruit of the Spirit list?
- No, seriously: think about it and ask around a bit. Do you honestly think love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control can get a person to the top in business?
- Why or why not?
- If you think that’s the wrong question, what’s the right question?
- Belinda Board’s lists describe character traits that may ebb and flow in a lifetime. How do you think the fruit of the Spirit list works its way into a business leader’s life?
- Is there an action step for you in all this?
- What could keep you from identifying and taking a next step?
Comments (2)
can’t see
Hey, I can’t read the NY Times article without registering. Could you just post it here for me? Thanks!
other links
I can’t post the NYT article since it’s copyright protected. Here are a couple of links to other citations of Board’s research:
The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1462339,00.html
The British Psychological Society: http://lists.bps.org.uk/read/messages?id=5816