That is the thing about bullies: they hold so much power and instil such fear - until they don't. And when that day comes, it is hard to credit how they continued for so long in wreaking havoc on a country or a company.
Take the swift demise of Robert Mugabe in the past two weeks, the collapse in 2014 of African Bank, headed by Leon Kirkinis, or the downfall of Lehman Brothers (one of the triggers of the 2008 global financial crisis), led by Dick Fuld.
Mugabe's decades-long rule destroyed the country's economy, and its citizens lived in fear as opponents were eliminated.
In his report on African Bank, Advocate John Myburgh said Kirkinis was the dominant personality in management and believed "he was right and everyone else wrong". He said the word "hubris" came to mind when describing Kirkinis's personality - "hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence, accomplishments or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power".
Fuld was reported as saying he wanted "to rip out [his competitors'] hearts and eat them before they died".
When a company collapses or a tyrant is finally deposed and everyone starts picking at the corpse, it often emerges, if it wasn't known beforehand, that the leader or leaders were bullies. The word "psychopath" is thrown around freely, and it is one I hear often since I have taken to watching a TV show about serial killers. It is oddly comforting: there is a serial killer and he is caught. Always.
But outside the confines of TV shows, psychopaths wreak long-term havoc, and they don't all end up in prison. About 1% of the population falls into the psychopath category, rising to about 4% among corporate professionals, according to research. This is compared to about 15% of the prison population in the US.
Manfred Kets de Vries, professor of leadership development and organisational change at Insead, refers to a leader of an organisation who is destructive, manipulative and a liar, but also charismatic, as a "Seductive Operational Bully" or "psychopath lite". "Organisations of all sizes can be duped, charmed and ultimately destroyed by these people if they are given enough power."
He adds, in his paper "The Psychopath in the C Suite: Redefining the SOB": "Not all psychopaths are destined for prison; some may even be in top executive positions. Wherever power, status or money is at stake, such individuals will be around."
Companies can create the ideal turf for these individuals as the focus is on shareholder wealth, often superseding the wellbeing of employees, the environment and customers, so giving them leeway.
De Vries says: "Many of their defining characteristics - their polish, charm, cool decisiveness ... are easily mistaken for effective leadership qualities." In other words, "they are hidden in plain sight".
And when profit targets aren't achieved, the economic or regulatory environment or even peers will be useful scapegoats.
Until their reign ends, De Vries advises those who work closely with a CEO who exhibits these traits to "take your career in your own hands, cut your losses, preserve your self-esteem and move on".
But it is a lot harder to exit when the psychopath is the leader of your country.
• Enslin-Payne is the deputy editor of Business Times
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