Dark Side Personalities Ruin Careers

LONDON - New research shows that 85% of UK’s leaders demonstrate ‘Dark Side Characteristics’. These deeply rooted, self-destructive aspects of personality contribute to the alarming self-destruct rates for high flyers and put individuals and organisations at risk.

The research ‘A Decade of the Dark Side’ by Psychological Consultancy Ltd (www.psychological-consultancy.com/ ), draws on 18,000 completions of the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) collected between 1999 and 2009. The HDS addresses 11 proven leadership derailers with double-barrelled scale names such as Confident -Arrogant, Charming - Manipulative and Shrewd - Mistrustful emphasising both the Jekyll and Hyde aspects of each characteristic.

Only 15% of the sample show no ‘dark side’ characteristics at all, while 26% (4,800) have three or more dark side characteristics on display. “At work these tendencies can break through in times of stress (when the pressure gets to us) or times of success (when we feel full of ourselves and indestructible)”, says Geoff Trickey, Managing Director of PCL.

The study suggests that more than a quarter of managers can be so appeasing that many have difficulty ’speaking truth to power’ or in making independent decisions. Another quarter is too aloof, detached and socially awkward to be effective in dealing with ‘people’ issues. And a further quarter are charming and persuasive, but to such an extent that they are easily seen as manipulative, calculating and disingenuous.

Generational research shows Generation Y to be surprisingly immature and unprepared for the realities of working life. Generation X can be viewed as superficial and manipulative, while Baby Boomers have a waning interest in other people.

Public sector employees can be moody and take things personally, becoming distant and less flexible. While Private Sector employees tend to be more egotistic and self-important.

“Dark side characteristics are in everybody’s make up”, says Geoff Trickey. “This report shows that they are highly visible in the UK workforce, showing where and how they are likely to show up as managerial risk factors impacting negatively on colleagues and organisations.”

This report addresses some pressing issues: - Are UK managers too compliant to make independent decisions or to ’speak truth to power’? - Can an injection of private sector talent improve the public sector? - Is our future safe in the hands of Generation Y? - How sector specific are management risk factors? - Are leadership and development programmes based more on whim than wisdom? www.psychological-consultancy.com/

Source: The Psychological Consultancy (PCL)

Emily Gallagher, emily at vmhassociates.co.uk, +44(0)7900-560801; Veronica Hannon, veronica at vmhassociates.co.uk