A 2023 study by Dr. Clive Boddy, a recognised expert on corporate psychopathy found that 13% of corporate executives display psychopathic traits – 10 times higher than the incidence of such traits in the general American population.
These leaders are linked to a three times higher fraud risk and toxic workplace cultures that inevitably boil over into public scandals.
Dr Boddy’s research is not an outlier. Research by Dr Paul Babiak and Dr. Robert Hare has found that the prevalence of psychopathy among corporate executives could be as high as 3% to 4%.
Other research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology consistently points to a higher concentration of psychopathy in leadership roles compared to the general population.
Celebrated in business
The traits typically associated with psychopathy – like charm, manipulation, lack of empathy, willingness to take risks, and an inflated sense of ego – can be mistaken for strong leadership qualities and are often celebrated in business.
The numbers paint a damning picture: nearly two-thirds of corporate reputation crises today originate from leadership misconduct, according to a 2023 Deloitte report.
Research published by Harvard Business Review in 2022 shows that companies led by narcissistic CEOs are significantly more prone to scandal. Meanwhile, over half of whistleblower cases can be traced back to toxic leadership, as noted by the Institute for Corporate Management in 2024.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Boeing’s 737 MAX crisis — a cautionary tale of how toxic leadership can crash not only planes but also a brand. Internal reviews revealed a corporate culture that prioritised profits over safety, with executive leadership suppressing engineers’ warnings about critical design flaws.
Financial losses
The fallout? More than $20 billion in financial losses and brand damage that may never fully be repaired.
This was not an engineering failure – it was a leadership failure. And it is more common than you would imagine.
Dr Holly Andrews, an associate professor in coaching and behavioural change at the UK’s Henley Business School, explains that some psychopathic traits can be conflated with traits of a successful business person.
“Traits associated with successful leadership overlap to some degree with traits of psychopathy, for example, the ability to influence and manipulate,” she says. “Psychopaths are good interview candidates as they are charming, able to tell convincing stories and do not experience anxiety. They are also calm and confident in a crisis.”
Recognising and mitigating the presence of “corporate psychopaths” is crucial for organisational success and well-being.
Crisis-proof leadership
There are three powerful ways to crisis-proof your leadership.
First, psychometric screening is increasingly being adopted, with 30% of Fortune 500 companies now testing for malignant behaviour to detect potential risks early.
Second, culture audits—through tracking workplace trends and analysing exit interviews—help flag red alerts before they escalate. Finally, pressure testing via crisis simulations can expose ethical weaknesses in leadership teams before they play out in real time.
The hard truth? Toxic leadership always goes public eventually.
At Aprio Strategic Communications, we help companies with crisis simulation and pressure testing. We know that proactive crisis management is not just about reacting. It is about staying ahead of threats before they escalate. Our ARMOUR approach helps you identify risks, simulate responses and deploy communications to protect your business and reputation.
In today’s world, a company’s reputation is only as strong as its weakest leader.
Esmé Arendse is managing director at Aprio South Africa.
