Part 4 - Founder's Syndrome or Workplace Mobbing?

Please read Parts 1- 3 of "Founder's Syndrome or Workplace Mobbing" before reading Part 4.



Research indicates that instigators of mobbing are likely to have narcissistic, psychopathic (aka sociopathic) or Machiavellian characteristics, and charities are not exempt from having such personalities on their Boards. In fact psychopaths frequently target empathic individuals, thereby caring individuals such as founders and charity staff are at risk of being targeted by such people.

See: "Empathic people are natural targets for sociopaths - Protect yourself" - http://www.addictiontoday.org/addictiontoday/2013/10/empathy-trap-sociopath-triangle.html

The narcissistic, psychopathic and Machiavellian personalities, known as the Dark Triad, will manipulate others to achieve their objectives, which is when the mobbing process accelerates. Whereas the instigators may have the characteristics of personality disorders, Harper points out that even good people can turn bad in a mobbing situation:

"Mobbing may commence as interpersonal "bullying" behaviour, but through pressure, perks, rumours, and mounting fear, bullying rapidly escalates to collective bloodlust if management wants to eliminate a worker. Regardless of prior positive relationships with the target, the workforce comes to view the target's problems as a threat to their own job security, and often as an opportunity to align with management."

"Mobbing in the Workplace: Even the Good Go Bad": Article: http://huff.to/s8NZPk

In her book "Mobbed - A Survival Guide", Janice Harper PhD states: "Humans are one of the few species which will organize its members into groups to attack another of its members ... When people behave in groups, their animal nature will almost always prevail over their personal nature ... When mobbing gets underway, the people involved will not respond from a rational standpoint. Logic won't work in responding to them because their animal nature will prevail - which doesn't make them any less responsible for their actions."

"Being involved with a sociopath is like being brainwashed. The sociopath’s superficial charm is usually the means by which s/he conditions people. ... People with a highly empathic disposition are often targeted. Those with lower levels of empathy are often passed over, though they can be drawn in and used by sociopaths as part of their cruel entertainment.  Sociopaths make up 25% of the prison population, ... But not all sociopaths are found in prison.

There is the less-visible burden of sociopath-induced emotional trauma which, if left unchecked, can lead to anxiety disorders, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Chronically traumatised people often exhibit hypervigilant, anxious and agitated behaviour, symptoms such as tension headaches, gastrointestinal disturbances, abdominal pain, back pain, tremors and nausea."

On the matter of branding Harper contends that: "Group behaviour revises people's [the target's] social identities and rewrites their histories, creating ever-more-spectacular accusations as it gains momentum." ...

In her article "Rediagnosing "Founder's Syndrome": Moving Beyond Stereotypes to Improve Nonprofit Performance", Elizabeth Schmidt, Director for George Mason University's Enterprise in Service to Society Initiative, states:

"Once again, the founder's syndrome diagnosis is so overly broad as to reach the level of stereotype.  The simplification, exaggeration, and blame that result from thinking in stereotypes can be harmful to the individuals and institutions involved.  The Founder's reputation is sullied, even if he or she has none of the symptoms.

If any of those symptoms are present, none of the other stakeholders is asked to share in the blame.  And virtually no one questions whether one or more of these symptoms could actually be strengths.

The institutions suffer as well, because stereotypes allow them to avoid addressing real problems by placing blame on the founders. And this distrust of founders discourages the founders, and sometimes prevents them from implementing ideas that could solve society's most intractable problems."

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/management/22547-rediagnosing-founder-s-syndrome-moving-beyond-stereotypes-to-improve-nonprofit-performance.html