Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (19 page)

to make and maintain excellent first impressions. But then over time, some coworkers began to realize what was going on and turned against them. Given this scenario, one might predict that eventually the psychopaths would fail, that they would be uncovered, or that they would offend the wrong person and be removed from the organization before great psychological and financial harm was done. But this did not happen. Most of them are still enjoying successful careers in their original organizations. The few exceptions left their companies for larger jobs in other companies—some of them competitors—who most likely were sold a greater “bill of goods”

than the original organizations in which we found these people. Unfortunately, some unnamed victims were reorganized out of their jobs, had their careers derailed, or left their companies in disgust.

The natural phases of psychopathic behavior—assessment, manipulation, and abandonment (see pages 43–54)—are common in society as psychopaths move from victim to victim. We added an initial phase to capture the process they use to gain entry into the organization, and now we will add a subsequent phase, which we label ascension.

Ascension Phase

As a direct result of their manipulation skills, corporate cons are able to build careers that lead them to increasingly higher-level positions in the organization. This need not be the CEO’s job, of course, as not all psychopaths aspire to that position. But one position that often is immediately attractive is the one occupied by their patron.

Once the psychopath’s manipulation network has expanded to include the whole power structure of the organization, and all key players are in his or her corner, the ascension can take place. Almost simultaneously, and seemingly overnight to the victim, the entire power structure shifts its support to the psychopath who moves up into the now deposed patron’s position. The risks of this actually oc-Pawns, Patrons, and Patsies

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curring are even greater in organizations undergoing chaotic change, as business fortunes can rise and fall almost overnight, providing the necessary rationale for reorganization. We will discuss this more fully in chapter 7.

Power Freaks

In his engaging 2002 book,
Power Freaks: Dealing with Them
in the Workplace or Anyplace
, researcher and writer, David Weiner, describes the many ways in which some bosses and coworkers can make a life living hell for those around them.

Drawing on his own experiences as the founder and CEO of a major marketing firm, Weiner expertly illustrates the many varieties of power-hungry individuals found in the workplace, and the techniques they use to dominate and control those unfortunate enough to work with them. One of the most devastating types of
power freak
is the subject of
Snakes in Suits
.

The psychopathic drama continues to unfold as high-power and high-status individuals, the patrons, who protect the psychopath from doubts and accusations of other organization members, and who facilitate fast promotions, advanced assignments, and job rotations, find themselves betrayed. Sadly, the patron becomes a patsy, losing organizational status and often his or her job to the psychopath, who has been lobbying for the promotion all along.

ACT III, Scene II

AN HONEST MISTAKE?

“Was I copied on that e-mail from Dave?” asked Frank, as he downed the second martini and grabbed his coat.

“I think you were, Frank. But, why don’t you check tonight, and if the file hasn’t come through, call me and I’ll forward it along,” offered John, as they headed for the elevator.

Frank got off the elevator on his floor of the hotel and pulled out his key card. He jammed the card into the lock twice before the hotel room door opened. He pushed his way in, dropped his suitcase near the door, and threw his computer case onto the bed. He quickly pulled his laptop out of the case, hit the start button as he opened the screen, and walked over to the desk in search of an Internet port.

Placing the laptop down, he took the wire and made the connection.

It would be a few minutes before his system was up, so he fished
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some dollar bills out of his coat pocket, grabbed the ice bucket, and left the room, heading for the vending area. The humming sounds of the ice machine drew him down the hall and around the corner, where he found the ice machine. He knew he would be up late; caf-feine was a necessity to combat the two martinis he had had with John earlier at the bar. Soon he had two sodas and a bucket of ice in his hands, and was on his way back to his room. There better be an e-mail from Dave, he thought to himself, getting angrier and starting to walk more quickly.

Line after line of e-mail scrolled up his screen. Most of it was junk. But then finally he saw it, an e-mail from Dave. “Okay, let’s see what this is,” he muttered to himself as he opened Dave’s e-mail.

There was an attachment, a positive sign—the first in several long hours. Frank read the message:

Frank: I got your phone message; didn’t understand what you were talking about. I left the disk on your desk Friday afternoon. Anyway, I went to the office and found the disk on the floor in your office. Figured you ran out with the folder, but the disk must’ve fallen out. Here it is. I also sent a copy to John in case you didn’t make it; you sounded upset.

“Left the disk in my office?” said Frank aloud. Like a person frantically trying to find a set of lost keys, Frank played back his steps from last Friday evening repeatedly in his mind. “. . . fell on the floor?” Frank was puzzled, but he had to stay focused. It was getting late and he still had to prepare for the next day’s meeting. He clicked on the e-mail attachment and it opened to the first slide of the presentation. He slowly clicked his way through the presentation, stopping here and there to read the text. At the first chart, he lingered for quite a while and studied the figures. Frank opened the original file that he had picked up in his office and searched for the same chart.

Or was it the same? No, the charts were different, very different. In fact, except for some introductory material and graphics, the entire
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presentation was different from the one he had picked up from his desk late Friday. Frank’s mind was oscillating between attempts to answer the question, What the hell happened?, and attempts to focus on what he was going to say during the meeting tomorrow.

Taking another gulp of soda, Frank continued to review the new presentation. He liked what he read. Eventually, a deep sense of calm overtook him. This is good; this is really good, Frank thought, smiling.

Having finished reviewing the presentation and writing notes for his talk, Frank packed up his computer and got ready for bed. The committee is really going to like this, he thought, getting under the covers and turning out the light, Dave came through.

The quiet in his mind did not last long. But, how could I have left it in the office? I put everything I found in my briefcase. Frank started doing the deep-breathing exercises he had learned in the stress management course. No wonder John was pleased, this is really a creative, well-thought-out plan, Frank sighed, smiling again, as he tried to refocus on the positives. Good thing I ran into John in the lobby and he raved about it. I may not have learned about it until the morning—what a nightmare—if Dave hadn’t found the disk in my office. Or had he?

Frank’s eyes opened, paranoia starting to get the better of him.

7

Darkness and Chaos

THE PSYCHOPATH’S FRIENDS

Ginny sat in her office reviewing the interview schedule for the day.

She pulled Al’s material out of the stack and flipped through the folder. She sighed as she read the file. Another one of these, she thought, anticipating the boredom she’d feel during the conversation. But maybe he’ll surprise me.

The receptionist rang Ginny and informed her that Al was in the waiting room. Ginny went to get him, files in hand, and led him back to her office through the maze of cubicles, copiers, and conference rooms.

“Did you find the building okay?” she asked, smiling.

“Hard to miss, actually,” Al said, with a slight sarcastic tone as he looked around the department layout.

They got to Ginny’s office and she gestured toward a chair for Al.

He glanced around, obviously disappointed at the small size of the
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space, the stacks of paper and files, and the low-cost metal furniture.

Al hadn’t seen anything like this for years; as VP of finance for Acme Tech, he had grown accustomed to oak, mahogany, and teak. “Nice office,” he said, faking a smile.

Ginny reviewed the information Al had provided on the forms.

As she worked her way through his employment history, she asked pointed questions about the responsibilities he had in various jobs, the types of things he could do, and his interactions with others. She also asked about his family and upbringing. “We were dirt poor,” Al said proudly, “and I worked my way through college and supported my mom and younger sisters, as well. I had to become the man of the house very early because my father was a drunkard and left us high and dry.” Ginny took careful notes as Al spoke, occasionally referring to her prepared set of questions.

“What kind of work are you doing now?” she inquired.

“I’m doing a bit of consulting, not much, actually, I’m looking for the right fit.”

“What kind of job would be the best fit for you, then?” she asked, checking a few boxes on her worksheet and writing in some comments.

“Vice President–Finance,” Al started to say, but paused when he saw Ginny stop writing in midword. “What? That’s the job I had at Acme Tech—why should I settle for less? I have a lot of financial experience; I have a long record of accomplishment, as you can see on my résumé. A company would be very smart to hire someone with my experience. I just had a turn of bad luck; not really my fault, as you know reading my cover letter. There were some bad actors on the executive team at Acme; they put the blame on me because I had been tough on them. I was clearly the strongest leader the company had had in a long while, so they framed me.”

Ginny continued making notes and asked a few more questions.

“So you can be a tough boss?”

Al was ready for this question. It was his time to make his pitch:

“You bet I can be tough—like getting my staff to work long hours
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and go the extra mile for the good of the company!” he said, beaming. “But, I’m not tough on everyone. Some people don’t respond to tough love, you know—they need to be coddled. I do that too,” he said, nodding. “A leader needs flexibility—I was nice to the big guys and, when it suited my agenda, hard on the little people. Little people like strong leaders; it makes them feel comfortable.”

Ginny glanced at the clock on the wall over Al’s head. Seeing this, Al continued, speaking very quickly, “I have the style, the smarts, and the looks to carry off any VP job. I worked hard all my career and wasn’t afraid to confront the competition. If you want to be successful, you have to be ambitious,” Al said, leaning forward and gesturing, “and stab the competition in the back, right? I showed them I could run with the wolves and not falter if I met someone who stood in my way. I made hard decisions others didn’t like, and then wasn’t afraid to use their disagreements to uncover their disloyalty to the company.” Al leaned back in his chair, paused, and said, “I always supported the company; I talked up company goals, objectives, mission, and vision and whatever the hell else they thought was important. I was always a team player, as well. I kept the important ones in the loop and proved my loyalty repeatedly. It paid off because I got the promotions, the big salary, the nice offices, cars, and all that stuff. It’s hard for me to admit”—Al paused, dramatically—

“but they were fooling me all along and I never knew it. I never realized they were really a bunch of crooks and they were using me—I was the fall guy.”

Ginny interrupted Al and began to close the meeting. “Here is your copy of the consent form and a copy of the judgment. You’re expected to pay restitution in regular installments. We’ll work out the specific schedule during our next meeting. You’ll need to look for a job and bring me a list of companies you’ve applied to, with phone numbers I can call to verify. We’ll meet every week, here in my office, until you are settled, and then biweekly. I’ve signed you up for counseling and they will meet with you once we’re through here.

You’ll meet with them weekly in a group setting, and take some
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course work on managing your finances and anger management, as well. They will report to me how you’re doing. Do you have any questions?”

“No,” Al said, feigning a humble smile. “I know what I have to do and, trust me, I’ll pay everything back. My goal is to regain my integrity. Thank you for helping me and seeing my side of things.”

Ginny rose as the counselor arrived at the appointed time.

“Hello,” he said to Al, “come with me. I’ll introduce you to some of the others.”

As Al left with the counselor, Ginny finished her notes. She added a few more observations, completed the assessment, and closed the file, placing it on top of one of the many piles surrounding her desk. No surprise about his personality, she thought.

As she walked to the reception area to pick up her next client, she ran into a fellow probation officer. “How was your morning?” her colleague asked.

“You know, these white-collar guys are the worst,” she said.

“They get their hand slapped, never do time, brag about it, blame everyone but themselves, and then, once they land another job, do it all over again. What an attitude; give me a car thief any day over these guys—at least they’re honest.”