“Trickery, disguise and deception are the dark side of social skills,” said study coauthor Gerhard Blickle, a psychologist at the University of Bonn, in a statement.
In psychological terms, toxic personalities are characterized by low honesty and low modesty. “Such personalities tend to focus on themselves all the time,” says Blickle, who calls toxic people “dark personalities.”
The researchers suggest that you too can help stop toxic career climbs (!). If you’re a manager, the trick is to pay attention to team performance (not just task performance), and to separate job performance from good impressions, particularly in jobs that involve attracting attention and interest, such as leadership and sales, where toxic personalities can thrive.
