Beware of the psychopathic leader

A company appointed a CEO who had little interest in the people and more on preparing the company to list. His agenda was obvious to all; cut costs and create a robust bottom line that would appeal to the right investors.

The result? In less than two years at the top he managed to destroy the transparent and trusted culture. He wanted to introduce a new way of doing things and, in doing so, degraded human capital to commodities without emotion.

Eventually he too resigned, but after many high-profile departures from the company. Sadly the damage was done.

It ’s the perfect example of how quickly you can race to the bottom when you only focus solely on the bottom line.

A recent survey from Gap International of more that 500 business leaders shows that those in charge who achieve extraordinary results are more focused on others than on themselves.

It makes sense that in order to achieve exceptional thinking, strong leaders are thinking about how to make a difference in the world, while also considering other people, because often, in order to achieve great things, the contributions of others are required,” CEO of Gap International said.

There are many founders and CEOs who get the importance of what grateful employees can accomplish, including Chobani yoghurt CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, who recently gifted 2000 of his staff with shares in the company.

But it was a simple comment from one of his front line employees that illustrated why this gesture was so significant. He said “it’s not about the money, it’s about feeling appreciated.” It really is that simple.

Motivated and happy employees flourish when they feel appreciated, are challenged and excited about the work they do. People doing what they love hardly feel they’re working at all, just living. They have more joy, more meaning in life, more stimulating relationships.

Meanwhile, on the flip side, you have people working for the security of the monthly pay. They struggle to get out of bed most days and arrive to the cold greeting of other disgruntled employees.

An employee’s experience is so often moulded by the leader of an organisation and, sadly, psychopathic business men and women are still being promoted to senior roles.

They don’t have the social or communication skills to interact with others, relying instead on intimation tactics to dominate others and get what they want. Like any bad relationship, the employee can become desensitised and therefore accept unacceptable behaviour in return for job security. The question is what is it costing the economy?

Sick days, lack of productivity, stress, which ultimately is transferred to the families at home.

A recent Gallup study – where people were asked “Do you like what you do each day?” – showed only 20 per cent gave a strong yes in response.

So, should leaders be measured on the wellbeing of the staff, as equally as the bottom line? Absolutely.

Engaged employees will stay longer, perform better and help create a healthier organisation.

Today there are so many ways to name and shame poor leaders, and promote great ones. We should not underestimate the power of social media and apps such as glasshouse that rank CEOs and companies by past and current employees.

It’s like looking for a hotel room – the new generation now scan for sentiments and chose a company that matches their online metric. If a leader is wondering why they are struggling to attract and keep good talent, maybe they need to take a look at what ’s happening on the inside first.

When they look inside the organisation, and calculate the influence each team member has on social media, they need to consider what investment they are making to ensure the company brand is reflected positivity on the outside.

The Mark Zuckerburgs and Richard Bransons of the world are not sitting around boardrooms analysing the data, they are setting examples, inspiring staff and creating a workforce that contribute to a happier and healthier society. Branson said it perfectly: “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”

Treating your people like rockstars is no easy feat. The race to the top is to become meaningful and find meaning for your crowd. The race to the bottom is to ignore it, and pass it off as a problem for the human resources or marketing department as “that fluffy stuff”.