Do Psychopaths Make Good CEO's?
According to this article, many CEO's (especially in Silicon Valley) are psychopaths/have psychopathic tendencies. The reasoning behind this actually seemed fairly solid. I mean there is something to be said about someone who is willing to risk everything for their startup. There is a high probability of failure, and most people can't cope with that. Overall, I agree with parts of the article, however, I would like to think that most CEO's are probably sane, normal people, with a few who fit the psychopathic profile.
A panel at SXSW takes on this very topic, presenting the thesis that many successful CEOs in, yes, Silicon Valley share a lot of psychopathic traits that are actually beneficial to running a company.
Okay, okay, sure, yep, this is bad. Who wants to work for a psychopath? No one. But, according to venture capitalist Bryan Stolle, psychopaths are so prevalent as CEOs because "it's an irrational act to start a company." You have to be uncompromising in your vision, which requires a hearty dose of both ego and persistence, and you have to be willing to sacrifice almost everything for success.
What do you guys think? Have any of your experiences proved this to be true?
Reference: Psychopaths Make Good CEO'S
If you've ever known a sociopath (I grew up with two. One was arrested and later diagnosed, while the other is still out ruining lives), you will know that they have some severe character flaws that can potentially ruin a company and the culture, even though it lets them take risks normal people wouldn't do:
1) They are highly impulsive 2) They are irresponsible 3) They lack long term goals 4) They are trill seeking individuals.
And last, but not least:
5) They are pathological liars. You cannot trust them with anything.
So, with that said, they can probably work for short-term goals. Like boosting performance from one quarter to the next. But there's always a price tag attached to that. A business rots from the head and down, so if you have a toxic culture in the top, it wall trickled down. Yes, modern businesses rewards sociopathic behavior, because the reward is usually tied up to business performance. But that doesn't mean it could ruin a company in the long run. Dealing with sociopaths is like playing with fire, you only do it once.
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