How to Deal with a Psychopath Boss | Jon Ronson and Brian Klaas on Power

This is part 3 of an exclusive How To Academy event.
Does power corrupt, or are corrupt people drawn to power? How do you tell if your leader is a psychopath? Are we drawn to following bad people? To find out, Brian Klaas met presidents, philanthropists, cultists and dictators. He tells his story to Jon Ronson.
Dr Brian Klaas is an Associate Professor in Global Politics at University College London and a columnist for the Washington Post. Klaas is also a frequent television commentator and political consultant. He was previously based at the London School of Economics and the University of Oxford. He is also the host of the Power Corrupts podcast. He has advised governments, US political campaigns, NATO, the European Union, multi-billion dollar investors, international NGOs, and international politicians. On KZbin, Brian has been featured on CNN (strongmen leaders), MSNBC (Corruption in the republican party, dictators, authoritarianism), David Pakman Show, TEDx Talks, BBC Newsnight, Skeptic and Forward with Andrew Yang.
Jon Ronson is a journalist, author, and filmmaker whose works include Them: Adventures with Extremists, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and The Psychopath Test. He has published nine books and his work has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, City Life and Time Out. He has made several BBC Television documentary films and two documentary series for Channel 4. On KZbin, Jon has been featured on TED (psychopath test, one tweet can ruin your life), JRE Clips (fake martial artist, Bohemian Grove), GANT (Couple thinkers), RiverheadBooks (the psychopath test), Russell Howard, Shaun Attwood, PoliticsJOE, BBC Sounds, Times Radio and The Moth.

[@DawnSTyler]

I read the book MindHunter about 20 years ago. It was written by one of the FBI agents who developed their profiling system. One of the things he explains is that it is very common for such murdering types to seek out jobs where they will be given authority over others. The FBI would cross reference their suspect list against people who had applied for jobs with authority (particularly jobs that wear uniforms that give authority) like police or security guard or EMT etc. The correlation between power seeking and murdering was so strong that it helped them eliminate suspects and find the real killers. What does that tell us about the types of people interested in politics? Not all, but some want that power specifically because they enjoy abusing it. Testing power seekers for psychopathic traits is desperately needed but it will be very hard to implement because I’m pretty sure that Politicians if psychopathic would be the successful psychopath type. I think a lot of them know what they are and at best believe society simply misunderstands them and does not understand that they are the best type for the job. There is so much stigma connected with such an appraisal as the O’Hare checklist (and rightly so). However, such a diagnosis would be, at minimum, a career killer, if communicated to the public. If psychopaths are a majority in politics (I think they might be 😮😢) there’s no way they are going to comply with a process that was meant to unmask them. I’m pretty sure most successful psychopaths (in suits) know what they are and have been consciously perfecting their masks for a long long time. I’ve already bought Brain’s new book and I am hoping he has included some real world suggestions about how such a screening process could be implemented in politics.🙏🥵

[@wl6279]

Lol yeah right easier said than done. This is why remote work is looking better and better every day. Unfortunately the consensus doesn’t seem to be trying to do anything about these psychopaths in the workplace. Most of us just seem to get used to them and adjust. Which in some cases is sad but a reality for many. Reporting them doesn’t seem to get you anywhere especially if you don’t do anonymously. So usually the obvious choice is to up and leave when you think you have stayed long enough. These days the co workers can be more of a problem than the supervisor or manager. So be aware of that also.

[@nothing1more487]

Thing is, remote work isn't going to help. A coworker with psychopatic tendencies will find a way through this "loop hole" to continue to exert dominance and torment your ego. God helps you if the person has HR in the palm of his hands.

[@wl6279]

@@nothing1more487 remote work is an option not the solution, recognize the difference. Besides, HR can’t be trusted either.

[@RecordsLotus_]

Or quickly, easily quit and find another job and better people to work for.

[@shelleyscloud3651]

Gender Ideology is also a form of loyalty test.