I was a child in the Eighties, a mere whippersnapper. Yuppies and the rise of the mobile phone as the ultimate in technology passed me by, I was too busy climbing trees to care. Too busy fishing out frogspawn, clumped like living, breathing boba, out of the lake next to my childhood home, to give a whistle about companies and who was leading them. So it is safe to say that the emergence of the corporate Dark Triad went completely unnoticed by ten-year-old Kate… until I joined the workplace in 1995.
The character traits that form the Dark Triad of leadership – narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy – were well known before they were grouped together in a corporate sense. In an earlier article, I explored how these traits are seen more commonly in executives than in the general population, and now, I examine the antidote to these particular “endearments” – empathy – and how awareness of toxic leadership has risen over the last thirty years. In 2025, having a well-rounded EQ test result is a badge of honour (I am pleased to say that mine turned out pretty well), and the backlash against toxic workplace culture and bullying by senior management has led to a shift in opinion about the right way to lead an organisation.
The term “Dark Triad” was coined in 2002 by Paulhus and Williams and as you can imagine, if scientists are investigating something, it is of current concern to the wider population. I have personal experience of a manager with at least one of these traits – a complete lack of empathy – a man so terrifying that when I heard footsteps on the stairs, my heartbeat would shoot up and I would brace myself for the thunderstorm about to erupt in the office. To give an example, I had forgotten to book a delivery of goods to site, and I can vividly recall the moment I realised. I was so terrified, I used my own credit card to pay for a courier delivery from the supplier. I ended up walking out of that job in floods of tears – I was in my early twenties and not remotely prepared for the kind of toxic leadership that was at its peak at that time. While this is an example of emotional dysregulation at work, rather than manipulation and complete self-serving, it is indicative of the lack of care given to the welfare of employees around the turn of the millennium. The attitude was “if you don’t like it, leave” – so I did. Salaries and bonuses were high and profits were higher, but morale was in the basement.
The impact on the organisation of low empathy leadership can be profound. Placing the impact on teams aside for one moment, there is a significant impact on stakeholders and third parties to the company. Relationships with suppliers become fractured, with a low-empathy manager engaging in exploitation and cutting corners, undue pressure and manipulative attempts to further their own cause. The end users are nothing more than an irritation and customers become a burden where their needs do not fit the manager’s agenda. Project sponsors are there to be deceived rather than engaged with. The costs of low empathy leadership reach far and wide into all aspects of the organisation, not just within the workforce, and here we come to the most damaging part of all.
The effect on employees is immense. A culture of fear results in a defensive, disengaged workforce, with quiet quitting on the rise – a phenomenon whereby people mentally disengage from their roles, doing the absolute minimum required of them and not a fraction more. No creativity or enjoyment amongst staff is found, people will watch the clock and sprint away from their desks at five on the dot, and those Sunday evening blues can result in real tears at the prospect of going to work on Monday morning. Furthermore the risk of burnout increases, as the physical effects of spending eight hours a day in fight, flight or freeze mode are profound and unsustainable over time. Absenteeism rises, performance suffers, and the long term effects on the organisation become apparent – shareholder returns will diminish and the company may even close.
A quick search of LinkedIn reveals that despite the awareness-raising of studies such as Paulhus and Williams, low-empathy leadership is still as prevalent today as it was thirty years ago. A post by a Chief Wellbeing Officer quotes statistics such as three in four employees having worked under a toxic boss, and a further poll shows that of those who had experienced a toxic boss, 20% quit and 60% stayed but plotted their exit. Low empathy leaders are causing top talent to depart in droves, and the ones who stay are thoroughly miserable. The empathy gap is clearly still in full force, only now with the advent of sites such as LinkedIn, we are far more aware of it.
There is much to learn from the empathic leader. Muss, Tuxen and Furstenau (2025) carried out a systematic review of 42 empirical studies where the key attribute was empathy. Their findings show that across nine categories, including physical wellbeing, modelling and performance, empathy brings so many benefits when adopted by leaders. Now I am not saying that every workplace needs to become soft, emotional and fully democratic overnight, as there is clearly a time and a place for autocratic leadership. The key appears to be having the ability to adapt to different styles of leadership as the situation requires. An emergency? Autocratic. Notice a team member with exceptional talent in one area? Coaching leadership. Having an array of styles to call on leads to well balanced, rounded leaders and a contented workforce, which can ultimately only benefit the organisation.
There is clearly a gap that needs to be filled with more empathic leadership. Perhaps it is indicative of Western culture that those displaying the Dark Triad traits are more likely to get ahead, and this is something that will take generations to change. Yet in the meantime, take some time to examine your own attitude to leadership, and objectively view your team’s performance through their eyes. Maybe the answer to the problems you deal with lies closer to home than you think…
Kate Stapleton https://linktr.ee/katestapletonfusion
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