I appreciate all of the comments on this topic. I am a bit rushed for time at the moment, but plan to come back with a few specific questions and also specific words of appreciation. Thanks!
I think you’re mixing up the terms sociopath and psychopath, but that aside, are you claiming people with antisocial personality disorder can’t have good people skills? From the articles I’ve looked at, there’s a high percentage of psychopaths in C level positions, corporate boardrooms, and on Wall Street. I’m betting there’s a large disconnect between what HR says companies want and who companies select for their top positions.
Roeth- i was claiming nothing (and apologies for posting on the fly- I am not a psychiatrist as you can tell)-- I was pointing out that people often confuse the social aspects of “makes friends easily” with having good people skills. And used the example of serial killers (and many of them fall into the category of “popular” as it’s used to describe someone with a high degree of friendliness and sociability.)
There are indeed a lot of C level execs with various personality disorders (borderline, narcissists, etc). I’m not sure what you mean by disconnect- should companies stop training employees in leadership, influencing, mentoring skills even if the CEO is a narcissist? A company with 90,000 employees is more than its CEO and someone has to get actual work done to get the widgets out the door. A heavily regulated industry is likely to have more type A’s (and maybe some %^&*) in their General Counsel and Compliance functions than a company where the regulatory environment is less important… but that’s not a disconnect- you need to hire the person with the appropriate skills and scope-- and sometimes that means hiring someone with suboptimal interpersonal skills.
Is that what you mean-- the tradeoffs?
Generally speaking, there is the solitary sociopath who would be perceived as more creepy or off-putting. Then there is the charming sociopath, or at least charming to some who are vulnerable. These are the guys who prey on dependent and vulnerable females. It is as if they can smell each other. On a mental health unit of a hospital, they attach within minutes. Impressive really. Unfortunately the women involved typically “love” them and keep coming back for more. Sociopaths and psychopaths are the same things. Sometimes, psychopath implies more overt, or perhaps perverted, criminality.
I hope he is just like that with patients and not colleagues or it’s a matter of when, not if, someone dies on the table because of a communication error intraop. Even the most simple surgeries usually require 8 hands (two surgeons, scrub nurse, and circulator) and I’ve been in surgeries with 4 or more surgeons operating simultaneously. Communication can be a life or death matter.
I’ve been a nurse for 21 years and have worked critical care, post-cardiac cath, endo, and OR. I’ve come across hundreds of doctors in those years, and doctors who lack “people skills” (in the way that I define them) can do tremendous damage. Not only clinically, as a result of poor communication and cooperation with the health care team, but in terms of the damage they can do to patients’ souls. I have zero patience anymore for doctors who refuse to listen, question, collaborate, educate, and respect those around them. No one is indispensable. For every brilliant surgeon who has crappy bedside manner, there are two who have the same skills but can treat people around them with compassion and respect. There is no reason to put up with that kind of crap because you believe that their skills make up for lack of respect, compassion, and humanity. There are very few doctors whose skills/knowledge are truly all that unique that they can justify unkind and unprofessional behavior.
I was thinking more of these examples, where people who lack a conscience or empathy, seem to rise to high powered jobs because of, not in spite of being psychopaths. My point was definitely broader than specific departments in highly regulated industries.
http://www.psychology.org.au/news/media_releases/13September2016/Brooks/
https://hbr.org/2012/03/psychopaths-on-wall-street/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/15/silicon-valley-psychopath-ceo-sxsw-panel
Careers that attract the most and least numbers of psychopaths:
Most
- CEO
- Lawyer
- Media (TV & Radio)
- Salesperson
- **Surgeon**
- Journalist
- Police Officer
- Clergy
- Chef 10.Civil Servant
Least
- Care Aide
- Nurse
- Therapist
- Craftsperson
- Beautician
- Charity Person
- Teacher
- Creative Artist
- **Doctor**
- Accountant
http://time.com/32647/which-professions-have-the-most-psychopaths-the-fewest/
More interesting nuggets:
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/starbucks-employees-emotional-intelligence-doctor/
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/06/does-medical-school-reduce-empathy/
No idea who that guy is, but he references a study covering 1990-2010. A lot is/has been changing quickly, in med school attempts to build good doctoring. In fact, that sort of study may be part of what led to some changes.
Also check the author backgrounds.