Interestingly, I was browsing the news and came across a study on the Dark Factor in personality. This isn't pop psychology. The Dark factors are those personalities that are agenda driving and self oriented. Such individuals act more or less consistently in their own self benefit and do not take into account the needs of others as much as they should. Many people might use the term toxic but I believe Dark Factor traits move beyond that into a disorder that keeps reverting back to a basic unmet need (psychology theory). Sometimes we meet such individuals in life, organizations, or while engaging in business.
If you ever disagreed with someone high on dark triad traits you will find they are often shortsighted, self seeking and highly manipulative. I'm sure most of us have bumped into a person or two in our lives that we think to ourselves, "There must be something going on because that was just mean spirited!." You can see the percentages of people who scored at different spectrum levels.
Where did I land? Well 80% of people are meaner then me, which means I'm low on the Dark Factors. I do not enjoy being mean spirited to others and seek to create as many win-win situations with people as I can. We don't have to be perfect, we just need to be descent human beings to each other. Don't jump to a quick judgement and take a minute to think.
That doesn't mean I haven't met people with dark factors and when I recognize it I generally keep my distance. Such individuals create havoc in the workplace and seem to create a drag on the positive ethics and values of a place. Eventually, they become so toxic and costly that they are removed. Unfortunately, they often leave a mark that reverberates throughout the organization for a long time.
If you are hiring employees and/or managing a team how might someone with Dark Factor Tests impact team cohesion? Are some personalities rewarded in business more than others? How might different fields attract people at various D levels?
*I have no affiliation with the researchers and have no endorsements of anything. If you want to take the test, great! If not, great! The video and the research were not taken from the same place but adds conceptually.
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