Here are three insights from the brilliant book “Corruptible” for you to reflect on:

ATTRACTING PSYCHOPATHS

As I mentioned, psychopaths, more often than others, rise to the top of the corporate ladder.

No wonder why. If you look candidly at HR processes, most job interviews promote talking about yourself in pure superlatives and protecting your image.

But is that inherently bad? Let’s analyze this through the lens of…

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STEREOTYPES

Of the 8,000 generations of humans, 7,980 lived in societies where size and strength were crucial for survival. That’s 99,8% of our history promoting certain traits we naturally associate with leadership.

An exciting study had Swiss children choose a pirate captain in a computer game using the faces of French presidential candidates. 71% chose the eventual winner as their captain.

We seem drawn to certain leadership traits. But do we need “Wartime CEOs” during tough times? It’s a critical question because being a leader during such times can significantly impact you…

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POWER AS MEDICINE AND POISON

Did you know that power can improve your health? With high status comes better immunity, at least until you can control the long-term stress that comes with that.

But before you apply for a CEO role to extend your life, consider this: it only works if you thrive in rising markets and take care of yourself during recessions. Photos of Fortune 500 CEOs showed those who led during the 2008 crisis aged significantly in a short period.

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A QUESTION

Finding your path requires balancing extremes. Both dictatorial styles and ruinous empathy can destroy companies and you as a person. Without knowing how to balance them, you won’t survive the challenges ahead.

One key lesson from the book is that too much power and distance from your people can make you adapt to omnipotent and psychopathic traits. Maybe that’s why Alexander the Great walked among wounded soldiers and built statues to honor them. They still left him in India, but what a 20,000 km journey it was for those Macedonian goatherds!

So, should you use stereotypes as a tool, showcasing strength, or is this an outdated approach? What alternatives do you see?

Let me know in the comments.