Sociopathic Personality Traits
Leaders Higher in Sociopathic Personality Traits - The 'Defiant Disruptors'
Leaders with high levels of sociopathic traits work well on their own or occasionally in groups where they can collaborate with like-minded individuals looking to revolutionize an industry, take down an entrenched incumbent, or disrupt the status quo. They have a natural ability and passion for finding loopholes, backdoors, and shortcuts that can accelerate innovation and disruption. The downside of their appetite for chaotic environments is that they may feel no urge to dial down the chaos and may even be inclined to increase it, resulting in the team burning out due to continuous crises.
Positive Impacts on Psychosocial Risk and Business Performance:
Encouraging Disagreement: Defiant Disruptors thrive on radical candor and open disagreement, fostering creativity and challenging conventional thinking. This approach aligns with Edward De Bono's 'Black Hat Thinking,' which promotes innovation through contrarian perspectives.
Removing Ambiguity: Defiant Disruptors distinguish between superficial disagreements and meaningful debates. They clarify parameters and foster genuine dialogue, which drives teams to innovate without personal conflicts
Negative Impacts on Psychosocial Risk and Business Performance:
Chaos and Stress: Defiant Disruptors flourish in chaotic environments but may unintentionally create continuous crises for their teams, leading to burnout and reduced psychosocial safety.
Increasing Anxiety: Defiant Disruptors might confuse arousal with anxiety, failing to recognize when imagined threats compound real ones. Without clear communication, their teams may experience heightened anxiety, impairing performance.
Organizations needing to innovate in volatile environments benefit from Defiant Disruptors' natural tendencies. However, these leaders must possess self-awareness, social awareness, and communication skills to ensure their teams can thrive amidst disruption. While their drive for chaos can lead to groundbreaking success, it must be balanced with stability to avoid detrimental impacts on the organization and its people.
Leaders Lower in Sociopathic Personality Traits - The 'Conscientious Collaborators'
Leaders with low levels of sociopathic traits typically seek to persistently and reliably perfect the status quo. They are comfortable collaborating with others, including those who hold an opposing point of view, and this ability helps them achieve higher levels of collaboration with other teams, divisions, and external partners. On the downside, their desire for strong connections may stifle constructive conflict in teams. They may unintentionally increase conformity and stifle debate by embracing consensus rather than driving collaboration.
Positive Impacts on Psychosocial Risk and Business Performance:
Managing Stimulation and Energy: Conforming Collaborators create planned, predictable changes, allowing teams to adapt and incorporate changes smoothly. Their steady hand calms volatile situations, bringing clear plans and processes.
Minimizing Ambiguity: Conforming Collaborators' known and replicable 'playbook' reduces confusion and enhances psychosocial safety. Clear communication ensures everyone operates from the same playbook.
Lowering Anxiety: Conforming Collaborators reduce imagined fears by doing what they say and hard-wiring reliability into systems. This is crucial in matrixed environments where teams depend on each other's information and outputs.
Negative Impacts on Psychosocial Risk and Business Performance:
Risk of Conformity: Over-reliance on the leader and established processes can stifle ingenuity and innovation. Conformity might become a cultural norm, discouraging challenges to the status quo even when evidence suggests a need for change.
Stifling Constructive Conflict: Emphasizing collaboration can unintentionally suppress debate and discussion, which are crucial for sparking new ideas and improving working methods.
Overall, while Conforming Collaborators bring stability and reliability, they must balance this with fostering innovation and constructive conflict to prevent stagnation and ensure long-term success.
