Today I learned about the Dunkel Triade or the Dark Triad in my German lesson. We were talking about sexism in the workplace and International Women’s Day for the 8th March (more blogs coming!) and we discussed the idea that there is a trio of dark Fähigkeit (capabilities).
Wikipedia say The Dark Triade is the combination of die Persönlichkeitsmerkmale von Narzissmus, Machiavellismus und (subklinische) Psychopathie.
I think they are fairly translatable for most people but in English, the dark triad comprises the personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. They are called dark because of their malevolent qualities.
Excellent news I hear you say!
What does that all mean?
Research on the dark triad is used in applied psychology, especially within the field of business management. People scoring highly on these traits are more likely to create severe problems for organizations, especially if they are in leadership positions.
We all know a boss like this!
The dark triad encourages people to rise through the ranks and into leadership roles:
The narcissism of ego and grandiosity helps people propel themselves forward for roles and the lack of empathy means they don’t care about others when thy get there.
Machiavellianism is shown by manipulation and exploitation of others. The need to succeed at the cost of others.
Psychopathy is seen by continuous antisocial behaviour and no impulse control. They leap into the next idea and railroad projects.
All of which can make a boss a total pain to work with.
What does it mean for IWD?
The data shows that men score higher than women on all three traits. Therefore it is unsurprising that they are normally more represented in the workplace leadership roles. Once again, these traits encourage men to senior leadership positions.
As IWD approaches, it means that women are talking about the gender bias and how to help. The dark triad is out there but the more we talk about bias and the more we tackle bias when we see it, the faster we can tackle the Dark Triads at the top.
Am I a member of the Dark Triad?
The Dark Triad is a personality inventory that explores the socially undesirable traits of Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy. The Dark Triad test is often used by police and the courts, in psychiatric wards and evaluations, and even in big corporations. Studies have shown that people who score high on the Dark Triad are more likely to commit crimes or get in trouble with the law and also more likely to cause social distress among their friends or problems for their workplace. On the other hand, studies have also shown that Dark Triad individuals are often perceived as possessing leadership qualities and that they have high social status and comparative ease of attaining desirable sex partners.
IDRLabs
More Articles to Read
- Know The “Dark Triad” To Prevent Workplace Chaos by Stephanie Sarkis
- The Dark Triad in the Workplace: How to Manage Difficult Personality Types
- Can Dark Triad Leaders Be a Good Choice for a Leadership Position?
- How to deal with the Dark Triad (psychopaths, narcissists, machiavels) while avoiding unethical office politics by Peter Willis