Sociopath at a Workplace; Hiring a Sociopath

Here I am going to discuss the "successful sociopath" types, who are distinctly different from sociopaths with a criminal record and/or manifestations of antisocial behavior. Much of the research on Psychopathy/Sociopathy that is available and hits the mainstream, has been and is being performed within the penal system, and, in my view, is not representative of the people with sociopathy in general. As each case of sociopathy is unique, and there being a spectrum to it, the most noticeable part of the spectrum is those sociopaths with clear antisocial manifestations. But many sociopaths lead lives without any negative impact for anyone.

When it comes to employment, an important stereotype that needs to be addressed is that "Sociopaths are always disruptive to the groups that they are in". This may be somewhat true in some short-term engagements, because meeting and getting along with new people is very stressful for a sociopath for the reasons described here. But in the long-term engagements, the workplace becomes some sort of a home for a sociopath, and he or she would not do anything to disrupt that, and, furthermore, would take action to ensure stability, often becoming a key factor in maintaining it.

Another important factor as to why sociopaths could contribute towards long-term stability is that they are largely incapable of and would oppose any discrimination and exclusion based on age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and identity. Pretty much, merit is the only factor that a sociopath would consider relevant for evaluating a subordinate. Having said that, a sociopathic person would have a distinct set of strengths and weaknesses that may be relevant for his or her employers. I will try to name those  and scenarios where they may either useful or detrimental:

• Firstly, if the company is in need to sell some BS convincingly, a sociopath is the obvious top choice to do it, due to personal charisma and presentation skills.
• Having very strong "emotional intelligence" a.k.a. people skills, a sociopath may be good at creating appropriate motivation schemes and ensuring retention of key personnel. Cross-departmental collaboration will also likely be on point. On the other hand, if the corporate culture is weak and internal politics is a thing within the company, then a sociopath may take advantage of that to increase personal standing.
• A sociopath is likely to be a very hard negotiator. Being able to deal out some serious BS himself, selling BS to a sociopath may be an exercise in futility. Also, having some deep insight into the motivation of everybody at the table, a sociopath will negotiate with the people, present, rather than the company that they represent, leading to higher success rates of negotiations.
• Sociopaths would tend to show high resilience in a wide array of work-related conflict situations, which may be stressful to other people. I.e., a sociopath would not take personally a heated discussion over budget allocations and maintain a neutral and logical position throughout, and mediate such a discussion, should it get stuck over personal animosities of those at the table.
• Being rather analytical, a sociopath will probably be able to make some rather inciteful reports  and think of efficient courses of actions, which may miss other people.
• A major limitation of hiring a sociopath is creatine a motivation scheme that would actually work. It should be rather fair and be aimed at promoting the qualities that you would want him to exhibit.

But, in the end, it is up to you to make the decision, whether hiring a sociopath is worth the trouble...