When you're in charge of a country, a major corporation, or a basketball club your choices affect people's lives for better or worse. Think of powerful figures such as Vladimir Putin, Rupert Murdoch, or Mark Cuban, no matter what they do, make some lives "better" and "ruin" others' lives. They have the power to allocate benefits and burdens.
This would spark discussions between many, about how these kinds of people attain so much wealth, power, and influence, whether is it ethical or not, and what made them really hold those positions.
In this post, we aren't going to talk about whether those people are "bad" or not, we will talk about how they exhibit certain traits that are not typically seen as positive or desirable, but which may contribute to their success.
Understanding the Traits of Powerful Figures
Due to their ruthless nature, powerful people are willing to do whatever it takes to reach their goals. Pushing boundaries that might seem impossible to push, maintaining a strict and disciplined mindset, and the willingness to sacrifice more than others, are all factors that help them achieve their goals.
But these factors are broad and difficult to pinpoint precisely.
Unlike most people, those who hold positions of power may not be restricted by empathy or a moral compass. However, it doesn't mean that they lack these qualities, that just means they can take extreme measures to preserve their power regardless of the intention.
A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that upper-class people are more likely to exhibit unethical decision-making tendencies.1 Psychologist Dacher Keltner has found, people who have power suffer deficits in empathy, and the ability to relate to others.2
What can we conclude from this? Is it fair that these people can engage in such malevolent acts? It is a frequently asked question, the word might not be the best fitting as we can tell from observing that we cannot count on situations to be fair, but rather adjust according to the situation.
In certain places and at certain times, we might not make the ideal decision that we wish we would make, although unfortunate, it is often necessary to make less-than-ideal decisions in order to preserve certain interests. An example is when doctors need to allocate life-saving treatments, even if it means some patients may not receive the best care they need.3
Dark Triad
If we take a deep dive into this, we can notice similar characteristics between these individuals. Now granted, not all of them possess the same traits, but a considerable majority do. Some of these characteristics are:
Machiavellianism: It refers to people who are willing to go to great lengths to achieve their goals. They have a big appetite for power and are willing to take advantage of others by manipulating or exploiting them.
Psychopathy: It refers to people with deficits in empathy, a hard time relating to other people, and poor behavioral control. It means that they could do things that are harmful to others, but they won't necessarily feel bad about it.
The three of these are stacked in one malevolent sounding characteristic: Dark Triad. The reason it's considered dark is because of its destructive outcome.
Usually, psychopathy and narcissism are considered mental disorders. However, in the context of the dark triad, people who exhibit these traits do not necessarily meet the criteria for a personality disorder. Therefore, these traits are often considered subclinical, as people who exhibit them may not necessarily meet the criteria for a personality disorder.6
People with dark triad tendencies use less ethical but effective strategies to reach their goals. As found in a study published by Springer Link Library, a positive correlation was found between dark triad traits and leaders at high levels.
It's worth noting that having DT traits alone doesn't lead to higher positions of power. It needs to be coupled with other characteristics such as charisma to balance and support these traits, helping individuals achieve their goals without undermining themselves.
How can we use that to our advantage?
Dark triad traits are socially undesirable and viewed negatively. However, understanding them helps us immensely in both our personal and professional lives:
Broaden our perspective: Gaining a new perspective helps us better understand behaviors and situations, and make more informed decisions.
Spotting it: Recognizing such traits aids us in taking measures to protect ourselves from being manipulated, deceived, and exploited by others.
Adopting it: To a certain extent, we can adopt some of these traits to improve our communication skills and advance in our careers.
Self-reflection: Understanding these traits can lead us to address them appropriately because we then recognize some red flags and tendencies we have toward these traits.
Along with other points, it is important to recognize the sinister nature of the dark triad traits. However, avoiding discussions about it and dismissing anyone who might possess DT traits can blind us from picking up on cues that warn us of manipulation, lies, and being harmed.
A notable example of this is the FTX crypto scandal, where the company at the time lost its customers around $8.6 billion, which caused havoc between investors and customers, surrounding the crypto scene in general. Additionally, it triggered the collapse of 100 affiliated companies.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, built an empire that was at its peak the third-largest crypto exchange by volume. He had a lot of ties to the government and donated around $93 million to politicians,8 of which he asked to be returned. And he also had ties with other highly influential people, for instance, Kevin O'Leary, Stephen Curry, and Naomi Osaka.
Sam claimed he didn't know what was going on, even though evidently, he manipulated many people including credible personas in the scene, and preyed on many normal working people to invest in his company lying about how the operation was being handled. He had control over all the trading, investing, and financial decisions. And the US government stated it was a fraud from the get-go.9
Sam undeniably possesses dark triad attributes, which helped him fool venture partners and ordinary people to invest.10
When we understand things, we tend to notice them more clearly and can prevent ourselves from falling for such acts that lead us to do things that seem good for us, but they're not only bad for us, but make those people so much money.
What can we take from this?
It is unfortunate that we deal with these kinds of things, but they're a reality. We can't just complain about it and expect things to go our way while claiming to be virtuous.
In the same way, these undesirable traits get people to higher positions of power and accomplish their goals, we should be equally as motivated to do whatever it takes to accomplish what we want in our own way.
We can't claim the moral high ground if we can't make things happen in our favor. Not everyone who exhibits these traits is necessarily a "bad" person. We have to remember that taking the "moral high ground" doesn't necessarily mean we are in the right. We all have to be competent in our lives, and sometimes that means making tough decisions that aren't positively viewed. It's okay to prioritize our own needs and goals, as long as we don't harm others in the process. Additionally, we should focus on taking responsibility for our own actions and decisions, and not complain when things don't go our way.
I will finish this thought with a quote by Jordan Peterson: "If you aren't a formidable force there's no morality in your self-control, if you're incapable of violence, not being violent isn't a virtue. You learn to be dangerous, but simultaneously you learn to control it. Both of those come together. And the combination of that capacity for danger and control is what brings about the virtue. Otherwise, you confuse weakness for moral virtue. I am harmless therefore I'm good."
Thanks for reading! If you want to learn more about dark traits, check out Dark Side of Personality by Virgil Zeigler. Don't forget to follow our blog for updates on new posts and join our email list for exclusive content.
1 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1118373109 PNAS Higher social class predicts increased unethical behaviorHigh
2 https://hbr.org/2015/04/becoming-powerful-makes-you-less-empathetic Dacher Keltner
3 https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/allocating-limited-health-care-resources AMA Code of Medical Ethics
4 https://tinyurl.com/37mbwk2h Mayo Clinic Narcissistic Personality Disorder
5 https://tinyurl.com/3cts3zfh National Library of Medicine Nathaniel E. Anderson1,2 and Kent A. Kiehl1,2
6 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1365/s42681-021-00025-6#Sec11 The positive connection between dark triad traits and leadership levels
8 https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/02/06/ftx-and-sam-bankman-fried-93-million-political-donations/ Leo Schwartz Fortune Crypto
9 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23450429-show_temp-8?responsive=1&title=1 Case 1:22-cv-10503 Document 1 Filed 12/13/22
10 https://tinyurl.com/mrya5ze6 "The devil in the nerd's clothes" Forbes
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