Snakes In Suits

[Erna]

Wow! What a week I've had! I am physically and emotionally exhausted!!!

Why? We have a psychopath in the workplace. I must admit, if it wasn't for the Signs page, this piece of shit would have had me fooled for a long time. He is leaving a trail of destruction behind him that will take a long time to clean up.

We are a group of companies, and end of last year one of our company's CEO was fired. So beginning of January, in walks the new CEO who is almost too good to be true. Charming, intelligent, presents well etc.etc.etc.

He made such a good impression, and since that brand of ours has 100 franchises countrywide, and it was of atmost importance that we make the right appointment. I dealt with him daily.

This is a very long story and I'm not going to bother you with the details, but he is a textbook case. As soon as I realized what I was dealing with, I remebered one thing I read a long time ago on this site about how to deal with psychopaths - hit them with the facts.

Our chairman called me in today, because things really started spiralling out of control, and I explained to him what we were dealing with. He looked very surprised. I think if it wasn't for the fact that him and I have known each other for ten years, he wouldn't have considered the possibility. I think in his head a psychopath is still something like a serial killer on death row.

I explained the manipulation, irrational behaviour, backstabbing, insincerety, arrogance, remorselessnes, blame shifting, erratic behaviour, being unreliable, unfocused, selfishness, parasitic behaviour, taking advantage of the goodwill of others............but most importantly, the lies, lies, lies.

I said to him I will order "Snakes in Suits" from Amazon and will get it through to him and it's an 'urgent read'. 'Snakes in Suits' was featured on a very popular actuality TV program we have here, called 'Carte Blanche'.

I have prepared a document with all the email correspondence between him and myself where I will expose all his lies. It took me 2 days to work through all the emails from January. I'm well prepared.

Like I said, I'm exhausted. More emotionally exhausted. I keep thinking this is so unnessecary, and soooooo unproductive.

Thanks guys, you have been a big help!

 

[Craig]

Thanks guys, you have been a big help!

The group could have been of a more direct help if you remembered another important lesson: that of networking. Putting your thoughts and ideas for action through the crucible of group observation - some who have been there done that - first! I really hope circumstances will turn out for the better, because you could have or might have invited a tonne of fiery bricks onto yourself with this one.

Not that you weren't careful, or didn't think it out thoroughly, but the first thing I'd want to do is discuss it with others just in case I was being too impulsive and not seeing this or that, and so on.

 

[Peto]

I have prepared a document with all the email correspondence between him and myself where I will expose all his lies. It took me 2 days to work through all the emails from January. I'm well prepared.

Oh Erna, I don't know what to say. If you have read Snakes in Suits, you know what happened to the one who fought the psychopath, right? You have walked into an ant hill. If he is a real psychopath, he is sure to have his back fully covered. The chairman who you know for 10 years may be fully backing him now. You should count yourself lucky if you can get out of this with minimal hurt.

 

[Laura]

Well, keep us posted. I'll be interested to see if the "good guys" win on this one!

 

[ScioAgapeOmnis]

I guess my advice would be, get a good night's rest. Exhaustion on any level will negatively effect your ability to think clearly and to present yourself clearly and to make a good/convincing argument, etc. Try to avoid letting the psychopath put "pressure" on you in some way or to intimidate you, or let your emotions cloud your ability to reason calmly and clearly. I dunno what the hierarchy is where you work and your place in it, but as you know a psychopath on a "low level" position can charm and manipulate higher-ups to their side, but if he's the CEO? Oh boy, good luck. Just don't give him any ammunition, minimize his ability to manipulate others against you. So if he potentially got wind of what you're trying to do, expose him, what do you think he might try in terms of manipulating others against you? Call you dramatic? Crazy? Paranoid? Emotionally disturbed? Turn it around on you, call you the psychopath who wants to set everyone against him, and lots more tactics to choose from. I guess keep in mind what the C's said:

1) Always expect attack
2) Know the modes of same
3) Know how to counteract same

So whatever you do, do not give him ammo, be calm, rational, non-manipulative, and patient with those you're trying to educate about the manner. Don't push them, don't pressure them into acting or sound alarmist - but at the same time convey the extreme importance of the situation, and to understand the situation - do what you can to make them not think you're exaggerating or crazy, because any false assumptions they develop about you will most likely be enhanced/used by the psycho if he ever catches on, to try to start an avalanche. K that's all I got for ya, good luck!

 

[Erna]

Well, not much has happened today. I could only see the chairman after work, and presented everything to him. It's a staggering amount of evidence, throughout the day people brought me more corresponce to include, the guys that was also implicated in the lies.

We met in the company library, and I spread everything out on the table. I painstakingly went through everything one by one. He said he did a little homework of his own today about the guys previous employment, where he was also a CEO. But he didn't discuss it.

Tomorrow is the big day. The Chairman asked me not to attend, he is going to take up all the issues with him and hear his version of events, and then afterwards he is going to present the email correspondence.

I'll keep you posted... I'm calm though. Whatever will be will be.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

Hi Erna,

I think that psychopaths need to be thwarted and that you did well. It's true that it might turn sour, but maybe my story will lift your spirits:

I used to work for a publishing company and one day our new team leader arrived. Everybody fell under his spell.. except for my colleague and me. For some reason (I did not know anything about psychopaths by then) that guy made our skin crawl. Everybody was raving about his looks, his charisma, his sense of humour.

Then, we began observing him: the guy wasn't doing anything at all all day, was giving us his workload while he surfed the net for porn sites (he did not even try to conceal it). We learned that he was dissing us, his "team" during meetings with the CEO. One day he went to a person and said "I see you have an unopened cookie packet, i'm hungry, open it please and give one to me". The person said "Well, i hadn't planned to open it today, i'm saving it for tomorrow". To what he answered "Well, I'm hungry and i cannot be bothered to get to the vending machine, open it".

My colleague and I wanted to do something about the situation, but none of our other colleagues were reacting. They were saying "Oh, it's probably a misunderstanding, he's new here, etc.". Then, with my colleague, we started collecting proofs of his shortcomings (e-mails full of lies, workload hidden under cupboards (i swear!), etc.).
At the time we had to fill in a timesheet with what we were doing all day, with a complicated system of numbers and as I did not trust him, I copied everything I gave him. Well, it turned out he changed my numbers (and those of my colleagues) so that we could not get our annual bonus! That was the only thing that set the others to say that something had to be done.
So my colleague and I went to his direct boss (a risky move, i know) and we exposed the facts. He told us he'd watch him more closely. Week after week, we provided proof of not only his utter incompetence, but of his malevolance towards "his team", other people in the company, etc. His boss was becoming more and more suspicious and finally phoned one of his employer, as written on his cv. Needless to say, he had never worked there. Nor for a lot of other companies on his cv. And we did it: he got the sack!!!

So I think it's really worth a shot. It does not always end well, but should things turn sour for you instead of for him, well maybe you'll be better off any way. I know how draining it is to work in a environment like that. Keep us posted!

 

[name]

Tomorrow is the big day. The Chairman asked me not to attend, he is going to take up all the issues with him and hear his version of events, and then afterwards he is going to present the email correspondence.

Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but, how much do you know and trust "The Chairman" ? Perhaps you _should_ attend despite his order not to. Just my thoughts.

Good luck, Erna !

 

[ScioAgapeOmnis]

Mrs. T - what got me was that he got the sack for lying on his resume (that's what a cv is, right?), not for all the other lies, manipulation, and selfish/nasty acts towards others. I'm wondering if his resume didn't have false information, would he have gotten the boot then.

 

[Mrs.Tigersoap]

Mrs. T - what got me was that he got the sack for lying on his resume (that's what a cv is, right?), not for all the other lies, manipulation, and selfish/nasty acts towards others. I'm wondering if his resume didn't have false information, would he have gotten the boot then.

I cut the story short not to bore everyone with the details, but it wasn't the cv. The cv was maybe the final straw. His boss actually told my colleague and me "The guy is an idiot, he does basically nothing all day, he falsifies the numbers. When I confronted him with the facts, he had nothing to say for himself, that's pathetic. We made a mistake hiring him. But you know, at the time, he was by far the best during the interview." I think in a way he was vexed not having seen through his lies during the interview, and maybe firing him was also some sort of ego-repair mechanism.
But you're totally right in pointing out that should his misbehaviour have been limited to his nasty acts towards others, he would have never been fired.

 

[Erna]

Well, there's not much I can tell in terms of what actually happened, I have no idea. I can only share my observations.

Once every quarter we have a company info session, where performance and goals are shared, and today was that day. The company closed at 13:00, then afterwards we had drinks.

They came out of their meeting just before everything started. I bumped into the psychopath on the stairs, and we greeted politely. A blind man could feel the atmosphere with a stick.

Afterwards, I made sure that the two of us pretty much stayed on opposite sides of the room. The dynamics in the room was rather...shall we say, uncomfortable. When I left the CEO's wife came to me and said: "I think he (the psychopath) unwillingly opened a bit of a pandora's box." I just smiled at her and told her to tell her husband that I'm not going to make his life difficult, if we need to move forward from here, then we will (meaning, if I have to get on with the guy for the sake of business, I will).

The group could have been of a more direct help if you remembered another important lesson: that of networking.

Time was short. I had to retaliate quickly. Thanks.

I know it's impossible to move forward with this guy, but I want the chairman to know that I will co-operate with whatever he decides.

Thanks Mrs. Tigersoap. I think this is only round one though.

ScioAgapeOmnis, I know what you're saying. It's unfortunately like that. Big bosses don't mind a little 'collateral damage', they only act when if it endangers the company or the money.

I'll stay in touch, but now it's weekend and I'm going to think about this as little as possibe.

 

[Z...]

Hi Erna,

Has it ever occurred to you that your boss might be psychopath himself, a better specimen that covers his tracks more skillfully then the one you spotted.

I am not saying this is the case just examining all possibilities.

 

[Erna]

Ask me again in a couple of weeks. I needed to be in that meeting.

I have always wanted to go sailing, but can't gather enough guts to resign and go do it. Deep down I wanted them to give me no choice.

 

[Locksmith]

Big bosses don't mind a little 'collateral damage', they only act when if it endangers the company or the money.

So true, but also if in anyway they perceive that it may reflect on them now or even down the road a ways. I would suspect that you have considerable time left. That CEO isn't going to try to get rid of those he perceives to be his enemies right after coming on board.

A friend just recently sent this made up portrayal of a psychopath boss -- _http://www.hallmark.com/wcsstore/HallmarkStore/images/products/ecards/nfg1969.swf

I emailed back to her, "An example of the psychopath that a lot of them are only this one tells the truth, as he sees it. The exaggeration is that in reality they would never tell the truth, as they see it, to us."

I have always wanted to go sailing, but can't gather enough guts to resign and go do it. Deep down I wanted them to give me no choice.

Uhh you should try very hard to have another offer available before doing anything drastic. Making the move, or even to start looking for a new position, is a very hard thing for most of us to do, particularly if we have years invested. But, in today's business environment it pays to always be looking. If you haven't already started why not do so?

 

[allen]

Erna, I've had experience like this in a company. I did much the same as you. Fortunately, it didn't end with me on the street looking for a new job, but my rashness did teach me some lessons.

One thing that you might not have considered is that psychopaths are very well tailored to the modern corporation. You see him telling lies, lies, lies. Others in business might see him marketing, marketing, marketing. Business tends to thrive on lies. You might be making a very naive assumption that exposing this psychopath's lies, no matter how well you think you know the people you are exposing them to, will make him seem undesirable. His ability to lie with a straight face might well be an asset the company has been looking for.

No matter what people say to you in private, when it comes to ethics and standing up for what is right against not having a job or not making a profit, the smart money always on the job/profit. People have a need to eat and keep a roof over their head. I've had coworkers tell me privately how strongly they felt about an issue then have that issue come up in a meeting. Like an idiot, I stood up and voiced exactly what I'd been told numerous times were the feelings of everyone else in the room. What happened? The same people practically attacked me in the meeting for saying those things. That is how the felt as human beings, NOT as employees. The real kicker is, after attacking me in the meeting some of them actually came up to me privately again and reiterated how they agreed with everything I'd said! Talk about duplicity. But it is the duplicity that you can expect when livelihoods are potentially on the line.

On the other hand, I don't want to come across as chastising you for attempting to do something about this snake. The key thing is to do something strategically, and that takes time. Remember, these kind have skills you don't have and probably can't get. For instance, when the chairman allows him to present his side of the story, how likely do you think he is to be able to tell when the snake is lying? The answer is, he won't because none of the body language cues he thinks he can use to detect lying will be there. If the snake is a true-blue psychopath, the lies will not register as lies at all...because they are not lies to him. Remember, psychopaths can lie their butts off and even the most sophisticated lie detector won't be able to figure it out.

When you wrote, "Time was short. I had to retaliate quickly" you displayed an attitude that I think could lead you into a lot of trouble. First, retaliation is never a good idea. That just leads to a fight, and in this kind of fight the one with the coldest heart will win. I'm sure I don't have to tell you who that will be. Second, retaliating quickly can be even worse. You don't have time to really work out a good strategy. From what you describe, it sounds like your entire case is built on getting others to think rationally and (worse) ethically. Again, you are dealing with business people. When they are home, they may well act like ethical human beings, but at work they have a company and its bottom line to consider. If that weren't the case, you simply wouldn't have "good, honest men" starting companies that, for example, sell virtual crap with little nutritional value to people and claim it is food fit for human consumption. Business ain't about ethics and doing what is "right" it is about making money.