With my background in leading covert law enforcement, I have received training and experience with the criminal psychopath.
The difference between the criminal psychopath or sociopath (there is constant interchangeability of usage between the two labels – to me they are so similar as to be the same) and the workplace psychopath, is that the criminal more often involves physical violence, whereas the workplace psychopath employs psychological violence.
Part of my service to clients is recognising and helping them deal with the workplace psychopath.
Having recently recognised and resolved the presence of a workplace psychopath for a client, it wasn’t too long after when they asked me to deal with another.
I was briefed that there had been some complaints from subordinates about this person and they had requested to be moved to a different team and different supervisor. They were moved as requested. I was also briefed that the suspect person was very intelligent, very competent and was leading a crucial project that had to be completed ASAP.
The client had also taken pre-emptive action and formerly instructed the suspect person that he would not have people report to him and any support he needed would be given under the direction and care of another supervisor.
My task was to coach their suspect and determine any evidence of his psychopathy and recommend action. The person had accepted the coaching.
By my third coaching session with the suspect, and independent checks I made about the original complainants, I was clear that we weren’t dealing with a psychopath, but with a person who was impatient, lacked people skills; was frustrated by seriously under-performing staff and had a serious project deadline to meet.
I was also dealing with a very risk averse client.
The suspect was in fact very empathetic, principled and a loving parent and partner with a healthy number of close friends.
He was dismayed by the lack of professionalism of the staff he had inherited and didn’t have the skills to deal with them effectively.
We continued the coaching sessions until the successful completion of the project, during which time he was allowed to select support staff and worked really well with them, earning their trust and respect.
Since the project completion the former suspect has been promoted and now successfully runs a department in the client organisation.
The original complainants have been set free to be ‘stars’ elsewhere.
This experience underlines our need to be very careful about making serious judgements of this nature.
What do you think?
