A big shout out Thank you to Shift Journal

I want to take a moment to give a shout out to the Shift Journal who kindly published my series of posts regarding psychopaths and ASD. The exposure and traffic from that was great and as an added bonus they worked with Hacker News which spread the articles even wider.

SO thanks to Shift Journal and a request for you to check them out: http://www.shiftjournal.com/

Update: Psychopaths, Sociopaths, ASPD and ASD/Aspergers: Recap and Resources

A few years ago there was a rage among psychologists and sociologists looking at the prevalence of sociopaths/psychopaths in the workplace. I got caught up in that and did a ton of research; at one point it was going to be my master's thesis.  As a wrap up of my series on psychopaths, sociopaths & narcissists in the workplace I wanted to collect the links to the previous articles as well as some other links to books and articles on the subject.

To recap my main points: People with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) like psychopaths/sociopaths look for certain types of victims. Those on the Spectrum often have traits that play right into the ASPD individuals hands and potentially make us targets more often than others. I discuss some of the characteristics you can spot that might mean someone is ASPD and how to protect yourself as well as note that those with narcissistic personality disorder may seem similar to an ASPD but in reality have different motivations and are easier to protect yourself.

[Update: fixed the protection link]

Introduction
Identification
Protection
Narcissists

Other Resources:

Wikipedia for Robert Hare, preeminent researcher on Psychopaths

Hare's first book: Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us
Hare's Second book (with Paul Babiak): Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work

Paul Babiak; industrial psychologist who studies bullying and ASPD disorder in the workplace

Mask of Sanity, a PDF of Hervey M. Cleckley's groundbreaking work on ASPD

Martha Stout's book The Sociopath Next Door

Article: Red Flags for workplace sociopaths
Article: How to Deal with a Sociopath
Article: Coping with Psychopaths @ work
Article: Workplace Psychopaths: how to deal with them
Article: What is the difference between a narcissist and a sociopath?
Article: The Borderland of Narcissism and Sociopathy

Narcissism, ASPD and ASD/Aspergers

Narcissistic people and Sociopaths/Psychopaths are very similar in their effects on the ASD population in that dealing with either is stressful and can damage our self-esteem and career. However they are different behaviors and that means we need to consider the narcissist slightly differently.

I would argue that it is possible to work and work well with a narcissist with fewer protections than the person with ASPD. If it helps, consider that the narcissist's actions result from a need to prop themselves up rather than from a compulsion to harm others. As one article put it "The less validating you are, the less worth you have for the narcissist. The less exploitable you are, the less worth you have for the sociopath." It is harder to limit ASD exploitability than it is to increase your validation of another. Therefore you can 'play the narcissist's game' a lot easier by simply feeding into their need for validation. The more they value you the more they will protect you.

Still they can be dangerous so keep these things in mind:

1. A narcissist will blame others for their failures; be sure you have your bases covered
2. Set boundaries on what work you can/will take on; a narcissist will likely delegate everything they are supposed to do
3. Narcissists will mirror successful behavior of others; your actions can help influence them
4. Limit your time spent with them in person to reduce stress
5. Limit how often you talk about yourself or anyone that is not the narcissist when they are present
6. Use a third party to maintain your grounding when dealing with them or you may lose your personality

Moving them out of your life is also an option but not nearly as necessary as with a sociopath/psychopath. If you feed into their ego, provide results and take care of your mental state it is possible to have long and rewarding careers near narcissists. Often their self-centered attitude and ego will move them up the corporate ladder and those that support them can reap the rewards too; not just money but challenging projects as well.

Protecting yourself against psychopaths in the workplace

Once you suspect that you are working with or for (and in some cases above) a sociopath/psychopath/ASPD person the next step is protecting yourself. This protection goes beyond just keeping your job and includes making sure you remember who you are; i.e. do not start to question yourself.

A general strategy of all of these types is to make sure that you believe their reality. Consider it like the movie Gaslight where they are trying to get you to believe them and question yourself. These tactics will help you retain who you are and what you hold:

1. Set up an independent person that you can check in with; preferably one with no contact with the suspected sociopath. Robert Hare in his book Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us mentions that he and his staff have to constantly do this or they get taken in by the criminals they interview. So if trained psychologists have to have this outlet it is likely the rest of us do too.
2. Along those lines use your company's Employee Assistance Program to bounce your concerns off of
3. Write copious contemporaneous notes. You can use the information there to remind you of the reality of what was said and when as well as give evidence to counter claims against you
4. If your workplace rules allow it, record conversations with the person. There is no expectation of privacy in the workplace so unless your company policy forbids recordings this is perfectly alright. Even if there is a policy make inquiries as to the rules for doing so. Again, the recordings will help ground you and provide proof if a confrontation arises.
5. Send follow-up e-mails about conversations and CC in your boss or others. "These are my take-aways from our meeting of June 15th at 2:00 p.m."
6. Avoid them if you can. If they are on a project you are on see if you can transfer off.
7. File a sealed letter with HR containing your suspicions with the instructions that it only be opened later at your request. If that does not work then get the letter notarized so that it will show a history of suspicion from the start.
8. Work with your supervisor to set and enforce boundaries concerning tasks, time etc. Even if your boss is cozened by the person you will have an easier time reminding your boss of the boundaries than the suspected individual.
9. Keep answers short and to the point with the suspected person. Any extraneous information will be used against you.
10. Try to keep all conversations with the person three party or more so there are witnesses.
11. Remind yourself that you are sane... every day if you have to

It may seem like a lot of work but remember what and who you are protecting: you and your career. These people do not play by any set of rules even though you do. Protect yourself within the rules.

Spotting Psychopaths in the workplace.

One of my favorite books is Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe: A Novel. There is a chapter that starts out talking about how a complete stranger is the only person to spot that an antagonist is an inhuman monster. When asked how he knew which of the antagonist's eyes was fake he responded "It was the only one with a glimmer of human compassion in it". If only it were so easy in the working world.

Psychopaths, sociopaths, Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), whatever you want to call it, people like that can do well in the workplace. Someone like this is able to chameleon themselves into appearing like a strong leader, an achiever, a results oriented person and sometimes everyone's best friend... well, best friend to everyone above them. In reality they weave a series of lies and collateral damage into a time-bomb that goes off after they leave.

One time I worked with a woman who showed all the tendencies of a business psychopath. Treated the people below her like crap, lied even when it suited no purpose, back-stabbed people (I was the first victim) left and right all with the appearance of getting results. Her lies were so blatantly obvious that I thought anyone would see through them. Her biggest whopper was that she had sold a company to Microsoft, made millions and did not need to work. Aside from there being no record of the transaction on Microsoft's legally required disclosures, her car was fifteen years old and barely worked; her 'work' outfits were not exactly Bloomingdale's and when doing business with Microsoft at our company she could not produce the name of one person there who knew her. Still, people loved her. After she killed my professional advancement in that company I switched to another department with my complaints falling on deaf ears. I was in the wrong and just jealous of her.

A year later I did have a little satisfaction when one of the people who told me I was off my rocker came back and apologized saying that they had no idea she was like that. This was after she torpedoed them at another company both had moved to with fanfare.

I began to notice I had a particular antipathy towards people like this. I think part of it is because psychopaths are likely to target people on the ASD spectrum as easy prey. We are usually held as less trustworthy to begin with due to our social issues and have a problem with confrontation. Also with our difficulty in thinking strategically we can be dismissed as 'missing the big picture'. I tend to clash often and fervently with business psychopaths and narcissistic workers alike. They are very similar.

This is not a scientific study but my mental checklist for determining if someone is at least a possible business psychopath; it certainly should not take the place of Hare's checklist and proper study. Instead use it to know if you need to put special guard up. Here are the characteristics that I have seen cluster around these people:

1. The lies and often grandiose lies (one guy told a tale of helping France revamp their postal system even though he had never been to France, does not speak French, knew nothing about letter/parcel delivery and France seems like they would do this on their own; not contact a guy in Los Angeles)
2. When challenged, especially on trustworthiness, makes dismissive attacks on the person challenging them.
3. Treats people 'below them' (subjective) very poorly even when there is no cause-- even a flimsy cause
4. Delights and brags about cruel behavior to others; especially animals, children, women etc.
5. If male, can be a major philanderer... not like one affair but several; often at the same time
6. Claims they are a big picture, leader or other buzzword of the day for someone who is an executive of a fortune 100 company when they are not
7. Uses business buzzwords a lot; often to disguise their lies or to appear like they are in the know
8. Makes moves every year or two (a sign their BS is catching up to them)

Like I said, this is certainly not a scientific list and can get you in to trouble if you based hiring decisions or work interactions solely on it. Instead it provides a framework to be concerned and to start looking at protecting yourself.

Conflict in the workplace: Introduction to Psychopaths, Sociopaths and Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Psychopath. Sociopath. Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). Whatever you want to call it, in the workplace, these individuals are poison and prey upon their coworkers as means to get an end... whatever that end might be. It is my contention that these people will prey upon ASD folk first as the ASD weaknesses align with the main symptoms of ASPD:

• Deception as means of getting ahead? Meet the ASD difficulty with abstraction.
• Impulsiveness? Meet the ASD difficulty in adapting to rapid change.
• Aggression? Meet the ASD difficulty in standing up for ourselves

This is an introduction to a series of articles for this week dealing with the difficulties of dealing with psychopathic/sociopathic behavior in the workplace as well as their cousin Narcissistic personality disorder. I have fallen victim to each of these types in business and I wager I am not the only one on the Spectrum to have encountered the same problems.