Been researching 'paths for Ten years after I ended up working for one and then got entangled with a female one at the same time.
I can now spot them reasonably well, I hope..........
Sociopaths will stop at nothing to get the recognition they thirst for, and be aware that the recognition doesn't have to be praise or adoration or worship; fear and loathing does just as well for filling their endlessly leaking self esteem bucket, so deliberate cruelty is also one of their signature tactics
They will lie, cheat. backstab, plot, connive, flatter and assassinate to get what they want and because they can't empathise with normal humans, they can do it with an absolutely straight face - no hint of emotion because there isn't any emotion. They are dead inside.
The tell tale signatures in an organisation are:
1. Good people suddenly leaving for no apparent reason - we lost Three "rain makers", very capable middle management who made us a lot of money. The sociopath felt threatened by their talent and success. A Chief of Staff also went after having innocently corrected her bosses mistake - in public. I earned the undying hatred of a very well known high profile sociopath for a similar indescretion.
2. The hiring of "special people" whose skil set includes flattery. We copped an Oxford PhD with that lovely accent because he was obviously "special". He became the bosses right hand man / assassin. He was also an incompetent prick, I had to explain the nature of the "database scam" to him in words of one syllable.
The reason for this hiring is that only a sociopath will willingly work for another sociopath. Pretty soon management is infested with them.
3. The creation of an "inner sanctum", for the "special people". All decisions are taken there in secret from the ordinary folk. This also involves a form of social bullying since information is drip fed out to the proles and if you are not "on the team" you are treated like a mushroom. In its highest form, everybody knows that someone is about to be fired or demoted except the victim.
One of the signatures of this behaviour is the holding of confidential group meetings, functions, conferences, etc from which certain managers are pointedly excluded.. I've also seen a room of some thirty employees being told that they are "too old" to retrain; the implication being that their days in the organisation were numbered and that they would be fired when it was administratively convenient.
4. A totally, or partially dysfunctional corporate strategy that massages the bosses ego. I was asked to recommend an investment that would have got him a seat on the board of a prestigious financial institution if we had made it.
5. Deliberate cruelty to staff and customers, for the benefit of the bosses ego. These places are not very nice to work in. Lies are commonplace. There is a deliberately fostered climate of fear. All must tremble a the power of he who must be obeyed. Stress leave and workers compensation claims become common.
6. Dishonesty - law breaking by the boss. When ever you see a well known public figure being caught and convicted for a stupid offence involving dishonesty - like insider trading in Telstra shares or lying about who was driving a car, you are dead set looking at a sociopath. They are above the law.
7. A lot of "networking" by the boss with very important people everywhere for the purpose of the next appointment or award. We also copped Two Directors thanks to the Qantas chairmans lounge - reciprocal Board seats for our boss of course.
As an aside to that, if you are ever offered an Order of Australia tell them to shove it up their arse, its a club for sociopaths with a few real achievers thrown in for decoration. Three sociopaths I know have the OA.
8. And of course, utter contempt for "the little people" starting with their own staff.
Would any of these signatures fit CASA? How would I know? They sure as hell fit some of the managers at Qantas judging by the alleged treatment of their engineers.
Last edited by Sunfish; 13th May 2013 at 21:40.