Too many of our corporate and political leaders are sociopaths; having people like this in positions of power is deleterious to our society and world. Many corporate leader sociopaths are individuals that control large corporations with vast wealth and holdings. Many care only about expanding appetites of money and power, without regard to responsibility or conscience. The greatest example of all time of a sociopath that led a nation was Hitler, who was responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Corporate sociopaths are often individuals that are charismatic and charming, but have twisted political agendas.
Enron is a perfect example of corporate sociopathology in action. Jeff Skilling, the former CEO of Enron, was directly responsible for the company’s downfall. Enron was one of the world’s largest companies for energy, and the fall of the company resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs for people, and the loss of billions of dollars in pensions and other shareholder funds (Rush, 2013). Skilling, during the time of his conviction, was charged with fraud, conspiracy, insider trading and other charges (Rush, 2013). The scandal also cost thousands of dollars in investigations, which have been ongoing for over 10 years. Did Skilling, and other Enron executives demonstrate remorse while they were engaged in reckless activities they knew would lead to the downfall of their company? Not at all. In fact up until recently, Skilling had been working on an appeal (Rush, 2013).
Kevin Rudd also demonstrates the tail mark signs of a corporate sociopath. Kevin Rudd demonstrates classic characteristics of narcissism, self-interest, and manipulation, traits that sociopaths generally carry in heaps (Adonis, 2013; Gordon-Smith, 2012). Rudd, waited until the last possible moment to put in his resignation, rather than issue support for his Prime Minister, working the crowds to subtly suggest in a passive aggressive manner that he would be a better candidate, only to later interview with a country news broadcast, suggesting he might be a better candidate to run for Prime Minister of his country, and then later to actually declare his intention to run after engaging in strange and manipulative behaviors (Gordon-Smith, 2012). Rudd suggested he had been the individual among Australian government that had been mistreated, and failed to receive the type of reciprocal support one would ordinarily need to gain support for a meaningful political campaign (Gordon-Smith, 2012). This type of argument is generally used to bring people in and fill them with thoughts that focus on the candidate rather than other issues of importance. Many have suggested that Kevin Rudd is attempting to engage the public in a self-made soap opera, rather than engage the people of his country in a legitimate battle for office (Gordon-Smith, 2012).
Such activities are common among sociopaths. Sociopaths will look for ways to blame people apart from themselves, for negative actions, ill consequences, or behaviors that are not considered “idealistic” either for themselves or for others. Narcissistic personality disorder is a common problem among sociopaths (VexNews, 2012). An actual Dr., a Dr. John Mendoza, former CEO of a mental health council in Australia, suggests that the soap opera and characteristics demonstrated by Mr. Rudd in recent weeks are indicative of sociopathic behavior (Vex News, 2012). Such a statement makes it hard to doubt that Mr. Mendoza may be facing some severe uphill battles during the campaign run.
Most sociopaths have a tendency to require positive attention and reinforcement from others; a corporate environment is the perfect place for these skills to blossom and develop… all at the expense of others (VexNews, 2012). The best employees and individuals, along with customers, can work toward is revelation of a better way, and role modeling when important. If you can be a genuine friend to a sociopath, you may find those tendencies gradually subside over time, although they are genuinely firmly entrenched in most people that exhibit them.
- Adonis, J. (2013). Inside the Mind of Workplace Sociopath. Sunday Morning Herald. Retrieved November 20, 2013 from: http://www.smh.com.au/
- Gordon-Smith, E. (2012). Rudd’s Leading Role in Labor Soap Opera. ABC.Net. Retrieved November 20, 2013 from: http://www.abc.net.au
- Rushed, D. (2013) Enron’s Jeffrey Skinning Sees Jail Sentence Reduced 14 Years. The Guardian. Retrieved November 20, 2013 from: http://www.theguardian.com
- VexNews. (2012). The Sum of All Smears. Is Kevin Rudd Actually Mad or Just Maddening? Retrieved November 20, 2013 from: http://www.vexnews.com
