Narcissism at work has become a bit of a catch-all term for those difficult to work with, someone with little compassion for colleagues, and who often derails or holds up projects due their attitude. However, narcissism is only one of three personality characteristics that constitute ‘The Dark Triad’ at work.

While each of these three traits have discrete elements that distinguish them from their Dark Triad counterparts, there is a substantial degree of overlap between them. The common behavioural sub-components that are found, at least to some degree, in each of the Dark Triad characteristics include self-promotion, aggression, manipulative and malevolent behaviour, and lack of emotional intelligence.

The specific traits and characteristics of The Dark Triad

• Psychopathy – guiltlessness, low levels of empathy and responsibility, and high levels of egocentricity and impulsivity
• Machiavellianism – ruthlessness, selfishness and having a manipulative personality
• Narcissism – feelings of personal entitlement and superiority, envy of success and exploitative behaviour.

Research has shown that these dark traits have been linked to several negative outcomes in the workplace including:

• Poorer job performance
• Increased counterproductive work behaviours
• Fewer organisational citizenship behaviours
• Lower levels of ethical decision making
• Greater likelihood to commit white-collar crime
• Negative perceptions from others.

Can dark traits be beneficial for organisations?

Some research suggests that the answer may be yes. A few studies have found that individuals who possess elevated levels of the Dark Triad traits, particularly in Machiavellianism, may have higher performance in some situations, particularly in task-orientated activities. However, other studies indicate that scoring very highly in these traits leads to poor job performance overall. 

There is no getting away from the fact that when it comes to leadership, it’s crucial to be able to work with colleagues as a team. When working in an organisation, a well-rounded profile is widely preferable to one leaning towards Dark Triad characteristics. 

Avoid the manipulative candidate

It’s not always easy at the recruitment stage to ascertain who will display these characteristics, and it’s often not until they are well into their role that Dark Triad traits begin to surface. However, what is certain is people with these attributes have the potential to demotivate a team, sabotage a project, or even pose a hazard to public safety.

The challenge is how to identify them before irreparable damage is done. For those in recruitment that starts with making sure the right candidate is selected and vetted appropriately.

Many organisations rely on assessment as part of the recruitment process, yet when it comes to the Dark Triad, a one-size-fits-all approach is not necessarily the right solution. In leadership positions, people with Dark Triad characteristics can be intelligent and manipulative, especially when there is a lucrative result, such as a highly paid position.

Many existing assessment measures are self-reporting, where individuals respond to a series of statements related to their attitudes and beliefs. If the candidate is aware of how they are being assessed, these statements can be susceptible to manipulation or distortion.

As an alternative, assessment using conditional reasoning is better able to mask the measure of personality and has successfully been used to identify undesirable traits such as aggression, or lack of integrity. By combining both types of measurement, variances can be highlighted, enabling recruiters to delve deeper into candidates and ensure the right questions are asked, and references sought, before finalising candidates.

So, should everyone take an assessment for the Dark Triad? In an ideal world, yes, but it is worth evaluating the risk of a bad hire and whether the benefit of testing outweighs the potential risk.

The consequences of a bad hire

For someone waiting tables, they may be difficult to work with, but easily replaceable. However, for those working with vulnerable people or where health & safety is essential, the consequences of a bad hire and associated fall-out could be far-reaching.

Likewise, those who are in business-critical roles, such as IT, could wreak havoc in an organisation if they were to become disgruntled and disrupt computer systems.

Leaders who have little regard for their colleagues can also cause disruption and demotivate their team, leading to the loss of highly skilled people, or creating a feeling of disempowerment at work.

In an environment where recruitment and retention of talent is a challenge, it’s tempting to skip, or take a lighter approach to recruitment – sacrificing quality for speed. However, time spent getting assessment right, pays dividends.

Top tips for identifying Dark Triad characteristics

Disruptive and manipulative individuals at work can cripple innovation, productivity and staff morale. Individuals with the Dark Traits are often adept at outmanoeuvring others, talking their way out of situations and controlling others to ensure their behaviour is unattributable.

Talogy has put together the following top tips for recruiters to help sift out candidates with Dark Triad characteristics:

1. Look closely for job-hopping or breaks in their career
2. Make sure you have references you can contact directly
3. Find an assessment that is difficult to manipulate and that can highlight dark traits
4. Be sure to identify any spikes of variance in an assessment report
5. Re-interview to scrutinise any areas for concern
6. Be sure to ask referees the right questions to gain insight into attitude and performance
7. Feel confident in the candidate you are proposing by having a robust recruitment process in place

Kristin Delgado is research and development manager, Talogy

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