Given the gender-iffic diva in Parle a Ma Main, this paper just seems to fit.
“The myth of the alpha male: A new look at dominance-related beliefs and behaviors among adolescent males and female,” Patricia H. Hawley, Todd D. Little, and Noel A. Card International Journal of Behavioral Development, Jan 2008; 32: 76 – 88.
http://jbd.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/32/1/76.pdf
(Right click to enlarge in a new window, or full free pdf linked above). (More after the jump)
This study is interesting for the psychological vivisection of Machiavellians. Both males and females use whatever tools in the alpha-toolkit as means to social dominance. Females use “relational aggression” (mean girls smearing competitors, or, in the grown up world, whistleblowers), more often than males. But not that much more.
Although Hawley et al. deals with adolescents, corporations are merely high school with money.
As I’ve bemoaned before, corporations frequently self- select for those who are good at rising in corporations, rather than those who actually have some sort of prosocial talent. (Although you can have both).
For me personally, I don’t have the “alpha” type mind-set, and so I’m always being blindsided by some political rats’ nest. This has happened so much I’m highly embarrassed. I mean, I should have learned by now. Now it’s just stupidity. Like not knowing how to look both ways before crossing an 8 lane section of the 101 at rush hour on a Friday near the 405. Or even attempting to do so.
IMO, Hawley et al is a pretty good argument for laying to rest that ’90s philosophy, talent management. As far as I can tell, “talent management” in the hierarchical organization is the selection of employees based initially on pedigree, and ultimately on alpha-type behavior. (No one really defined leadership, so I agree with the Carl Icahn explanation).
Malcolm Gladwell wrote this essay on “The Talent Myth,” including a discussion about what’s wrong with “narcissistic” organizations:
The broader failing of McKinsey [who promoted "talent management" philosophy] and its acolytes at Enron [one of the many failed companies who followed the program] is their assumption that an organization’s intelligence is simply a function of the intelligence of its employees. They believe in stars, because they don’t believe in systems. In a way, that’s understandable, because our lives are so obviously enriched by individual brilliance. Groups don’t write great novels, and a committee didn’t come up with the theory of relativity. But companies work by different rules. They don’t just create; they execute and compete and coördinate the efforts of many different people, and the organizations that are most successful at that task are the ones where the system is the star.
It’s different now. In a world where a job that can be done at a desk can be done at any desk, the kiss-up, kick down, yank and rank, “A” bucket, whatever you want to call the alpha-way of social dominance, likely won’t stand — unless there is some prosocial talent too.
I read somewhere that female psychopaths are more social than male psychopaths. This seems a contradiction in terms to me unless it means that because of the informal education of girls female psychopaths are more ‘social’ than male psychopaths (if you get my meaning).
(Incidentally, have you seen my email?)
Will check on the e mail, sorry – ack, too many e mail addresses.
Yes! Females need to be “nice” — so to that end, being sociable is sort of the same instrumentality. I’m thinking of “Janna” from the video from LAWeekly. Obviously more- if it’s useful.
‘Instrumentality’ is such a great word to use when considering the (interlocking?) characterologies: narcissism, psychopathy, and machiavelliansism. When on the receiving end one does feel used, like an instrument.
Steve — see your blog, my comments to your Machiavellian post.
Sheesh, I could write a book on this one. Actually, someone has, it is called the “No A**hole Rule” or something, but it really details corporate Machiavellians.
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