Psychology Assignment: Exploring Dark Triad Traits in Travis Kalanick

This psychology assignment analyzes Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber, through the lens of the dark triad personality traits: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. The essay argues that Kalanick exhibits characteristics of all three traits, citing examples from his leadership style and media coverage. The analysis explores how these traits manifest in his behavior, particularly in his interactions with employees and stakeholders. The paper discusses how his narcissistic tendencies are reflected in his ego-driven leadership, his psychopathic traits in his antisocial behavior, and his Machiavellianism in his manipulative tactics and disregard for others' well-being. The assignment concludes by considering the potential negative impact of working with someone possessing these traits. The author highlights the challenges of such an environment, including limitations on personal and professional growth and the potential for a toxic workplace culture. This analysis underscores the significance of understanding personality traits in leadership and their impact on organizational dynamics.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY 1
Psychology
Name
Professor
Course
Date

PSYCHOLOGY 2
Travis Kalanick
Travis Kalanick is one of the dark triad individuals who have been listed to have three
traits of the dark triad which include being Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.
The reason why I chose this person is that he posses the three mentioned traits. He has been
receiving negative reviews from the media. Historically, he is the former CEO and the founder of
Uber (Kalanick, 2016). He is said to have been possed by the traits of Narcissism, Psychopathy,
and Machiavellianism. His narcissism trait is reflected by him being an egotistic administrator.
In his leadership as the CEO, he was full of self attributes and ego (Levin, 2017). He thinks very
highly of himself and beliefs other people are just inferior and without any power to control his
decisions. His psychopathy trait is shown by his mental antisocial disorder. He is a very anti-
social person who does not love the establishment of a personal relationship with other people.
He is a very egocentric person who loves harassing women sexually (Levin, 2017). Moreover, he
portrays the Machiavellianism. He is much focused on his interests and manipulates other people
to achieve his set goals. He has led to many suicides of the taxi operators in New York.
I think this person portrays much of the Machiavellianism trait. He does not care about
the welfare of the people but takes and advantage of them. He has been listed as the exploitative
person who took advantage of subordinates in Uber Company to satisfy his needs. Before
resigning, he had a scandal of selling off his shares without caring about the effect on the

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company and all other stakeholders (Levin, 2017). Being a billionaire, he exploited most of the
taxi drivers in New York City that led to suicide issues.
Interaction with Travis Kalanick in workplace would be the hardest and challenging thing
ever done. He would think I am the slave in his company and exploit whatever resources I have
for him to benefit. Working in the same company as Travis Kalanick will be like committing
suicide. He does not have any respect for lower subordinates. He is a sexually abusive person
who does not take leadership as a professional duty. He, in my opinion, the relationship of Travis
Kalanick in the workplace is just a den of ego. He believes to be perfect and no one should
challenge him. He would not give me the change to express my views and my interests.
In reading his history he is the authoritative leader who would make the decisions
without consulting other people. Having a relationship with Travis Kalanick in the workplace
will affect my capacity to work and expand my skills. I would not be given time to exploit my
skills and expand my talent within the work. It would affect my moods and experience in the
workplace. It will be a prison-like working environment where no freedom is exercised. This will
have a greater impact on my working skills as this would lower my working capacity and ability
to expand my experience.

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References
Kalanick, T. (2016). Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s Gridlock Solution? Carpools for All. Wall
Street Journal.
Levin, S. (2017). Uber’s scandals, blunders and PR disasters: the full list. The Guardian, 27.