Why Do We Keep Promoting Jerks? The Dark Triumph of the Machiavellian Leader
Saturday, July 12, 2025.
know the type. Your boss grins like a Bond villain, praises you with the same tone he uses to order decaf, and has mastered the dark art of dodging accountability while somehow basking in your accomplishments\He’s not charming.
He’s not ethical. He might not even know your last name.
But he’s climbing the ladder—and you’re left wondering what universe this HR department lives in.
Welcome to the strange world of Machiavellian leadership. Where manipulation wears a nametag, and your office feels more like a Game of Thrones prequel than a team meeting.
What Is a Machiavellian Leader?
Machiavellianism isn’t about being strategic. It’s about being strategically heartless.
In psychology, Machiavellianism is part of the “Dark Triad” of personality traits—alongside psychopathy and narcissism. It’s defined by cynicism, manipulation, emotional detachment, and a belief that people are tools to be used or obstacles to be eliminated (Christie & Geis, 1970; O'Boyle et al., 2012).
But here’s the kicker: these people don’t see themselves as evil. They see you as naive.
The Research Bombshell: Machiavellians Are Toxic—And Weirdly Resilient
A colossal 2025 meta-analysis published in The Journal of Organizational Behavior confirms our worst fears: Machiavellian leaders create toxic work environments—and yet, they often get away with it (Marbut, Harms, & Credé, 2025).
Using data from over 510,000 participants across 163 studies, the researchers found that Machiavellian leaders are:
Less ethical
More abusive
Worse at developing others
More likely to erode job satisfaction and cause burnout
Yet still promoted just as often as non-toxic leaders
Let that sink in. These folks wreck morale, undercut teamwork, and burn out their direct reports—and still get 5-star reviews from the people who don’t work directly with them.
Why? Because they’re better at managing optics than relationships.
“It’s Not Abuse, It’s Strategy”: How the Machiavellian Sees the World
Marbut et al. (2025) suggest that these leaders don’t accidentally hurt people—they often see human decency as a strategic liability. In fact, the study found that Machiavellian leaders are often aware they are unethical. They just don’t care.
They believe the world is a war zone. Morality is for amateurs. Trust is a trap.
And loyalty? That’s what gets you killed in the first act of any good Shakespeare play.
These leaders don’t hide behind morality. They weaponize ambiguity, offering just enough clarity to claim the win, and just enough fog to blame others for failure.
Contrasting Research: Can Cunning Ever Be Useful?
Yes, but only in very specific environments.
In organizations that prize aggressive growth, zero-sum politics, or cutthroat competition, Machiavellianism can look a lot like “executive presence.” Belschak et al. (2015) found that some Machiavellians translate their selfishness into pro-organizational behavior—if it helps them win.
Spurk, Keller, and Hirschi (2016) also found that dark traits can predict short-term career success, especially in ambiguous roles where rules are loose and ambition matters more than kindness.
But let’s be clear: that’s like saying a sociopath makes a great day trader—true, but not the compliment you think it is.
Why Do These People Keep Getting Promoted?
Because they’re masters of “managing up.”
Their supervisors rarely see the damage they cause, because it doesn’t hit the KPI dashboard until the good employees start quitting.
And by then? The Machiavellian is off to another department, another title, another carefully controlled narrative (Kiazad et al., 2010).
The people who suffer most—direct reports—are often too afraid to speak up, or dismissed as “not being a team player” if they do.
How to Spot a Machiavellian Leader (Without Getting Fired)
Marbut (2025) offers some practical flags to watch for:
Cynical humor that belittles others but flatters the speaker
Criticism of traditional virtues, disguised as “realism”
Withholding clarity, especially when it helps them shift blame
Performative ethics—they know the script but not the meaning
They don’t just fail to lead. They sabotage loyalty, make you doubt yourself, and erode group trust—one passive-aggressive email at a time.
How to Protect Yourself (Short of Buying a Flamethrower)
If you're stuck under a Machiavellian, don’t try to win them over with emotional honesty or vulnerable chats over coffee. That’s not a conversation—that’s a weakness to exploit.
Instead:
Be formal, data-driven, and detached
Never assume mutual trust
Keep written records of everything
Get out when you can
Because in their world, you’re either a pawn or a threat. There’s no third category.
The Ethical Counterpoint: Why We Must Reward Character
Brown and Treviño (2006) found that ethical leadership isn’t just nicer—it produces better performance, higher trust, and lower turnover. Ethical leaders don’t just avoid damage—they create sustainable success.
So if your organization still promotes the cynical, the coercive, and the charisma-laced sociopath? That’s not just a hiring problem. That’s a values problem.
And no, having a mental health week with beanbag chairs and iced matcha won’t fix it.
Promote the Kind, Keep an Eye on the Clever
Leadership isn't a costume you can wear while sharpening knives behind your back. It’s a relationship. And relationships—whether romantic, platonic, or corporate—don’t survive long under manipulation.
We don’t need leaders who outfox the system. We need leaders who strengthen it.
And if you're reading this while sitting in a meeting where your manager is smiling while gutting your job description—yes, we’re talking about him.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed
REFERENCES:
Belschak, F. D., Den Hartog, D. N., & Kalshoven, K. (2015). Leading Machiavellians: How to translate Machiavellians’ selfishness into pro-organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(2), 245–260. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1984
Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.004
Christie, R., & Geis, F. L. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. Academic Press.
Kiazad, K., Restubog, S. L. D., Zagenczyk, T. J., Kiewitz, C., & Tang, R. L. (2010). In pursuit of power: The role of authoritarian leadership in the relationship between supervisors’ Machiavellianism and subordinates’ perceptions of abusive supervisory behavior. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(4), 512–519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2010.06.004
Marbut, A. R., Harms, P. D., & Credé, M. (2025). In the service of the prince: A meta-analytic review of Machiavellian leadership. Journal of Organizational Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2733
O’Boyle, E. H., Forsyth, D. R., Banks, G. C., & McDaniel, M. A. (2012). A meta-analysis of the Dark Triad and work behavior: A social exchange perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(3), 557–579. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025679
Spurk, D., Keller, A. C., & Hirschi, A. (2016). Do bad guys get ahead or fall behind? Relationships of the Dark Triad of personality with objective and subjective career success. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7(2), 113–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615609735
Would you like a downloadable guide on “How to Spot and Survive a Machiavellian Boss”? I can create a printable PDF with checklists and sample scripts.