Employees are the most essential asset of any organization. The dynamics of today’s ever-changing business world renders human asset and not the tangible assets, the aspect that sets apart an organization from its competitors. Given the importance of human resources to an organization, companies must invest in ensuring that employees remain productive and efficient. An organization can ensure its human resource maintains optimal productivity and efficiency by suppressing counterproductive elements such as dissocial personality disorder traits. Notably, changing human behavior requires leadership of change. This paper explores examples in which an organization exhibits dissocial personality disorder traits and strategies for addressing them at the leadership level.
Dissocial Personality Disorder Traits
People with dissocial personality disorder exhibit various symptoms. According to Megías et al. (2018), these traits cause distress or discomfort to others through socially unacceptable behavior. The World Health Organization asserts that people with antisocial personality disorder tend to be deceitful, impulsive, aggressive or irritable, reckless, irresponsible, and remorseless (Hodgins et al., 2018). When exhibited in the workplace, these traits can adversely affect the overall productivity of an organization.
Deceitfulness
A deceitful person is dishonest or untruthful and, as such, is unworthy of trust. In an organization, trust enhances both relations and decision-making. In an ideal workplace, employees trust each other and their superiors, and managers have trust in their teams (Megías et al., 2018). Deceitfulness is a symptom of lacking emotional intelligence, particularly deficiency in self-management. In an organization, deceit can manifest itself when ahead of department makes all the decisions without involving team members in the decision-making process. Such a situation demonstrates that the head of department does not trust team members. From a leadership perspective, a strategy to address trust issues entails being honest and supporting the team. It is also important to avoid micromanaging (Thory, 2016). Thory advises that it is also imperative to involve employees in the decision-making process and delegate where applicable. The strategies help cultivate trust, leading to meaningful relationships, thus eliminating deceitfulness in the workplace.
Impulsiveness
Impulsiveness refers to the tendency to act without thinking something through. Impulsive individuals display behavior characterized by little or no forethought, consideration, or reflection of the consequences associated with their actions. Megías et al. (2018) explain that impulsiveness is a symptom of lacking emotional intelligence, specifically a deficiency in self-regulation. An example of impulsiveness in a workplace is when an employee reacts to events rather than employing well-informed decision-making. As a leader, one can address this dysfunction by promoting emotional intelligence, specifically self-awareness. One of the ways leaders can encourage self-awareness in a workplace is through leading by example. When leaders demonstrate to base their actions on a decision-making process, team members are most likely to emulate the approach (Sollárová & Kaliska, 2018). A leader can also communicate with the team members regarding the importance of employing a decision-making process. One should also emphasize the need to make sure to take time and calm down rather than instantly react to events. Notably, this should not be presented as a reprimand but rather as a strategic approach for redirecting behavior (Serrat, 2017). Therefore, it is crucial to use a respectable and polite language.
Aggressiveness or Irritableness
An irritable person is easily irritated or annoyed. Such a trait negatively impacts a person’s ability to maintain healthy interpersonal relationships. Like impulsiveness, aggressiveness is a symptom of poor self-regulation (Megías et al., 2018). In the workplace, aggressiveness can demonstrate itself when employees are always arguing and quarreling amongst each other. Whereas workplace conflicts are inevitable, if they occur frequently, they hint at a dysfunction. A leader can address such situations by teaching employees the importance of being mindful and remaining aware of their feelings. It is also crucial for a leader to train subordinates regarding healthier interaction approaches that are respectful and nonreactive (Issah, 2018). It is also important to establish a culture undergirded by a robust two-way communication to prevent passive-aggressiveness (Serrat, 2017). Whereas work relationships will always have their challenges, employees need to address them using emotional intelligence strategies.
Recklessness
A reckless individual lacks regard for the consequences or danger associated with their actions. Recklessness can significantly hurt a company, which is why organizations seek to ensure that their employees uphold prudence. A reckless person lacks self-management skills (Megías et al., 2018). An example of recklessness in a workplace is when an employee’s precautions, put in place to protect a company from losses. For instance, guidelines for avoiding data loss from viruses. A leader can address this dysfunction by teaching the employees the concept of self-regulation/self-management. It is also vital to cultivate a culture that promotes corporate citizenship so that employees have the drive and motivation to act prudently (Sollárová & Kaliska, 2018). Most importantly, a leader must lead by example; as such, one must demonstrate prudence at all times for team members to emulate.
Irresponsibility
Irresponsibility is almost similar to recklessness. An irresponsible person lacks the quality of thinking or worrying enough regarding the possible outcomes of their actions (Megías et al., 2018). An example of irresponsibility in an organization is when a company employs individuals who lack competence. As a leader, one can address such behavior by instilling responsibility to the organization. Notably, irresponsibility is a symptom of poor self-management and renders an individual or organization unreliable and untrustworthy. The strategies for addressing this dysfunction are similar to those discussed in the “recklessness” section discussed above.
Remorselessness
A remorseless person lacks empathy and, therefore, is a symptom of lacking self-awareness. Remorselessness adversely affects workplace relations as individuals exhibiting this dysfunction face challenges establishing meaningful relationships as it negatively impacts their social skills (Megías et al., 2018). In the workplace, remorseless can portray itself when there is weak or non-existing team spirit. This is because remorseless people are incapable of establishing strong bonds with others. From a leader’s perspective, one can address such an issue by encouraging employees to conduct self-assessment aimed towards emotional self-awareness (Serrat, 2017). According to Thory (2016), developing self-awareness allows an individual to develop self-awareness, consequently heightening their sense of empathy. Most importantly, as a leader, it is crucial to demonstrate and extend compassion to the employees as a strategy to inspire and motivate them to act similarly.
Reflection
It is worth noting that knowing the symptoms and the strategies to address specific dysfunction within an organization significantly improves a person’s leadership skills. For instance, as demonstrated in this paper, to address the dissocial personality traits, a leader must lead by example to inspire and motivate the employees to emulate desired behaviors. In doing so, the leader improved their emotional intelligence skills. Notably, emotional intelligence is essential to outstanding leadership as it allows leaders to understand and manage their emotions and influence the emotions of the followers.
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