3 things you can learn from a narcissist, manipulator and psychopath

Psychologists are at the United States Military Academy (West Point) studied the cadets, in order to know which personality traits are most likely to contribute to success. Answer no. 1? Narcissism.

They were cadets assessed in many different aspects of leadership, both by superiors and subordinates. "Narcissism has benefited almost everyone," says Seth Spain, assistant professor of organizational behavior at Binghamton University School of Management. "It was the only feature that had a uniformly positive effect."

Intrigued (and maybe even a little scared) researchers decided to look further, how this unpleasant personality trait can lead to business success. The team led by Spain did just that more than 140 studies and published its findings in a report The Dark Side of Personality at Work. The report defines as such three personality traits – 'dark triad' – which can help you achieve faster success. Well, at least for a little while. From Julius Caesar, financial swindler Bernard Madoff and Kevin Spacey's character in the House of Cards series - all those who have too much of the 'dark triad' in them will ultimately fail. "These traits are mostly associated with failure at some point," adds Spain. "If you don't have exceptional skills, you will eventually alienate your colleagues, employees and customers."

In the meantime, all of us who don't have these qualities can benefit from knowing about them. We can observe how the 'dark triad' helps people to at the right time, with the right measure, they also change something.

Narcissists inspire with enthusiasm.

Think Napoleon or Steve Jobs. Narcissists can achieve incredible things, usually by putting their needs and wants before everything else. They are also ready to do almost anything to achieve their goal. And most importantly, they are great at impressing others.

“Narcissists excel at presenting themselves and their ideas, and are incredibly passionate about the things that matter to them. People come back from their presentations thinking that it is something exciting, a great opportunity," Spain says.

One of the definitions of leadership is ability to clearly articulate goals or ideas and encourage others to follow. And a touch of narcissism can help you do that. So when you pitch an idea, keep in mind, "I'm fantastic and this is the best idea you'll ever hear."

Manipulators know how to influence others.

Master manipulators know which buttons to push to get exactly what they want. They can influence others in many ways, including praise and flattery, forming alliances, even threats.

Most of us tend to only use one or two methods, most often awkward attempts at licking. It may sound funny, but manipulation towards a goal that will also benefit other people is the essence of good leadership. Therefore, we should be prepared, in moderation of course, to try a whole range of (moral!) tactics to influence others, if the results at the end of it are really worth it and good for everyone.

Psychopaths don't look back.

Are our most successful leaders really psychopaths? "No no!" Spain says. What many people think of when they hear 'psychopath' - such as Jeffrey Dahmer - is not what organizational behavioral psychologists have in mind. Subclinical psychopaths are simply willing to stand up to other people when they have done something wrong with very little shame or remorse. "They are the darkest part of the 'dark triad,'" adds Spain. "They pick themselves up very quickly after failure." Therefore, they are willing to make mistakes and take risks.

And these are qualities that any leader could use. "We can learn a lot from the resilience of psychopaths," Spain menu. Their lack of shame and guilt is bad for social relations, so we must not imitate it in any way. On the other hand, we can benefit, if we learn to say "I made a mistake", we accept it and move on.