THE HYPOMANIC
PERSONALITY
I am hyperactive ... in an extremely hyperactive sort of way.
— Josh LewseyIntroduction
Wou ld n ’ t it be nice if the people we work for and with, and those who
work for us, were stable, well - balanced, and perpetually happy? Wouldn ’ t
life be simple if the emotional state of the people we encounter in the
workplace were predictable and non - mysterious? Unfortunately, real life
rarely matches that utopia. Although the expression of emotions by most
executives falls well within middle range — high highs and low lows
being rather rare — there are exceptions. Some executives act and interact
in ways that puzzle, disconcert, and even disturb us, their emotional
style occupying an extreme position on the emotional spectrum. Dealing
with such people — people for whom there is no emotional middle
ground — leaves us with a strange aftertaste. But that is not the worst of
it: their emotions, and the behavior those emotions engender, have
potentially dramatic repercussions (for better or for worse) on their co -
workers and their organization.
In the course of a long working life, there is a strong possibility that
we will be managed by, or will manage someone, at one extreme of the
emotional spectrum or the other. Some of these people are proselytes of
the psychology of elation, while others are disciples of the psychology
of dissociation. While the fi rst sweep us off our feet with charm and
charisma, the others fi ll us with apprehension and dread through the
apathy they exude. While the fi rst possess the kind of infectious behavior
that sparks enthusiasm and inspires action in the people around them,
CHAPTER 2