A Desire for the Dark Side: An Examination of Individual Personality Characteristics and Their Desire for Adverse Characteristics in Leaders

Powerful and charismatic leaders are often highly desired by organizations and the followers that work within them. However, leaders who are highly skilled at developing relationships and accomplishing what they need to are often those individuals who rate very high on personality traits or characteristics that are considered “dark.” Although much attention has been paid to leaders and dark characteristics, we know much less regarding the dark side of leadership and followers’ susceptibility to these leaders. This article investigates the extent to which follower traits (i.e., the dark triad and the Big Five) predict a follower’s propensity to accept leader behaviors indicative of psychopathy (measured via the Hare P-Scan). Results suggest a follower’s psychopathy leads to the desire for dark leaders. Implications and future research suggest a more in-depth examination of followers and why certain individuals desire dark leadership, as well as examining negative environments.