Many times a business leader is said to have a “killer
instinct.” But does he really? Does climbing to the top of that slippery pole really
take ruthlessness and a cold-blooded urge to win? After generations of
muttering and whispers, some scientific research has shown that you don’t need
to be Jack the Ripper to run a billion-dollar enterprise, but you will
share much of his personality.
Back in 2005, researchers Belinda Board and Katarina Fritzon
studied the personality profiles of three groups: business leaders, psychiatric
patients and criminals hospitalized because of psychiatric illnesses. Their work showed that the psychological
profile of business managers matched rather well the profile of hospitalized
criminals. The areas of empathy (or rather lack thereof), charm, ego,
independence and focus were very similar. The more violent aspects of
personality were the only major differences. Pretty unsettling, isn't it?


So, are all successful leaders and managers one step away
from heinous things? Of course not. The sense of other, the realization of one’s
impact on society, and the acceptance of ultimate consequence will usually
prevail. But as the chestnut says, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Watch
your boss.
Killer instinct to kill their competitors in a good way.
ReplyDeleteMy question: is this also true in a communist Chinese setting, or only a characteristic of the new successor to Capitalism the Corporatism that has taken over America today?
ReplyDelete