Since Mia Freedman’s No Filter podcast interview with David Gillespie, a lot of people have contacted us to say thank you.
Thank you for helping them identify the awful, perplexing person in their life who is making it so hard.
There could be one in your family, you might be dating one, or there might be a psychopath in your workplace.
In fact, there probably is. It’s a rare person who has not encountered one at work.
In almost every scenario, they are incredibly charming. They will say everything you want to hear and slowly gain your trust until you are under their control.
Once a psychopath gains this control over not just you, but everyone around you, it will be their core mission to destroy relationships in the workplace. There are a few key ways to identify a workplace psychopath, according to David Gillespie, and he has some invaluable advice for what to do once you have.
But, after working for a psychopathic boss himself, Gillespie has some advice about what to do.
You can listen to my full interview with David Gillespie on psychopaths, right here. (Post continues after audio.)
Mia: How do you deal with a boss who is a psychopath?
David: In that environment, everyone will be off-balance. There is a cloud of emotional confusion, where suddenly people you thought you could trust, you’re not sure anymore. You certainly can’t talk to your colleagues about the psychopath because you’re never quite sure whether they are on the inside or not. You’re not sure if what you say will get relayed back to them and then you’ll suffer punishment.
But you can’t just cut and run because they will probably cause you significant damage. The psychopath will probably treat that as some sort of an insult, which requires revenge and punishment. You may suffer financial damage, like suing you, especially if there is an organisation behind them.
Mia: So, should you talk to the psychopath?
Firstly, start applying for jobs but at work, you have to be the ideal worker. I mean almost robotic, which is you don’t interact with the psychopath unless you have to. When you do you, repress all emotional responses. They will try their very hardest to get you to respond emotionally. If you go crazy in a meeting because they say something that is seemingly innocuous, then you’re the nut bag.