Abstract
People with high dark triad tendencies are often found in leadership positions. Yet research is lacking on whether dark triad personality traits positively correlate with the height of leadership levels (no leadership position, low-level leaders, high-level leaders, head and founder of the company). To explore this relationship between the dark triad and these leadership levels, three studies (NGermany = 137; NHungary = 333; NBothCountries = 355) were conducted, to measure dark triad scores for each leadership level. The results reveal that people in higher leadership levels display both higher self-rated and subordinate-rated dark triad scores. Further research is needed to investigate whether this finding is replicable for more objective measures and longitudinal studies as well as cultural norms, which may discourage or support dark triad traits. As the organizations are an important factor in promoting ethic-oriented behavior in individuals, one practical implication could be increased focus on developing ethical behavior during the assessment and training of leadership positions.
Highlights
Financial scandals and fraud cases within large corporations (e.g., Enron, Lehman Brothers, or Worldcom) have drawn the attention of organizational psychologists to the personality traits of leaders, those heading a company (Jonason et al 2015)
The following research explores whether dark triad personality traits positively correlate with the height of leadership levels, hypothesizing the following: Hypothesis: There is a positive correlation between leadership level in a company and (a) narcissism (H1a) (b) Machiavellianism (H1b) (c) psychopathy (H1c)
In line with the hypotheses, there was a positive correlation between leadership level and narcissism (H1a) as well as Machiavellianism (H1b)
Summary
Financial scandals and fraud cases within large corporations (e.g., Enron, Lehman Brothers, or Worldcom) have drawn the attention of organizational psychologists to the personality traits of leaders, those heading a company (Jonason et al 2015). Psychopathy is associated with proactive aggression (Cima and Raine 2009) Their uncontrolled aggression for a thrill differs the psychopath from the impression-motivated narcissist: While both narcissists and Machiavellians would not show aggression in front of others, as for narcissists it could mean to make a bad impression and because Machiavellians are too strategic and controlled, psychopaths maintain their callous and unemotional affect when being watched by the suffering person (Lee and Gibbons 2017; Paulhus and Williams 2002; Rauthmann 2011; Vize et al 2018). Psychopathy is related to a highly impulsive, uncontrolled, and aggressive behavior
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