BLUF
People with psychopathic and narcissistic tendencies have always tended to be, attracted to positions of power.Summary
Psychologist Steve Taylor in this article How to stop psychopaths and narcissists from winning positions of power asserts that people who possess those conditions are more likely to seek positions of power and dominance than those who don't. Taylor refers to the psychological concept of the 'dark triad' of malevolent personality traits—Psychopathy, Narcissism and Machiavellianism. He says these traits are disproportionately common in leadership positions and often seen in politicians and corporate leaders. Taylor says the essence of the problem is that callous people with low levels of empathy tend towards power. In contrast, empathic and responsible people—many of who would make good leaders—don't have the same desire to dominate other people. Instead, many of them prefer to remain in team member roles, which give them more opportunity to work with other people as equals. Taylor notes that, unfortunately, this makes it easier for psychopaths and narcissists to achieve positions of power.
