Psychopaths are never fun. Especially if you rely on them for work instructions, performance appraisals or day-to-day survival.
Many of my clients have had to deal with psychopaths. It’s never fun. I even wrote about it here (Office Politics: Is this hill worth dying on?) and here (Dealing with Toxic CEOs).
This is a great review of the how-tos when dealing with psychopaths. And this one provides a summary of the aptly named Arsehole Survival Guide (just another kind of psychopath, really).
Here’s a little side-line: Why Bad Behaviour is Almost Always Good Politics, summarising some Machiavelli, some Hobbes and a little Jeffrey Pfeffer.
And then Why Performance won’t get you Promoted, from Jeffrey Pfeffer’s Power.
Bonus read: I read and highlighted Pfeffer’s book on Power (Why some people have it and others don’t) – contact me if you’d like a copy of my kindle highlights!