The appointment of Gavin Isaacs as Entain head coach seems to be a rare thing that makes pretty much everyone happy. Why is this so unusual?

Good leadership is difficult to define, probably because each of us fundamentally wants different things than others.

But most of us will look at a Churchill, a Lincoln or a Zelensky and say, “That’s a good leader.” We will probably also all agree to a large extent about what makes a bad leader, but the reality is not nearly as absolute as we would like to believe.

What makes a good leader?

I was thinking about this after the announcement of Gavin Isaacs’ appointment as boss at Entain. I’m a huge fan of Gavin, I think he’s excellent company and a very knowledgeable and witty person. He’s also overseen some of the biggest deals in this industry but remains approachable and open and in that respect he’s quite unique.

I believe Gavin is a similar type of guy to Walter Bugno, someone who recognizes that building a great team and acknowledging their strengths is far more important than singing your own praises.

This is something I have believed for a long time in my professional life – an editor is an umbrella. That umbrella creates the best environment for the team to do their best work and absorbs all criticism so they can do that.

What can I say? Hey, You used the word hero here, not me.

At the top of the tree, you are a facilitator in many ways, enabling everyone else to do their best. And when that goes well, you are praised as a god and recognized as a great boss, and that’s because everyone else did the work! But that’s leadership, right? When it goes well, you are recognized as good. When it goes bad, the responsibility is always on you.

Is Gavin Isaacs a safe choice for Entain?

Gavin’s appointment has been greeted with great joy in the industry, and not just because he is a popular figure. I think everyone hopes he will do a brilliant job. You could say it is basically expected that he does it well.

Bill Hornbuckle of MGM certainly seemed satisfied. The appointment was “reassuring” and Isaacs would “do wonders for the business and ultimately the market,” he said.

But that’s what I’m thinking about. Isaacs is, by most standards, a damn nice guy. It’s often said that nice guys finish last and that to be successful in business you have to resemble a shark. There’s a notion that being nice means you’re soft or weak. This is surely nonsense, as any idiot will surely know when they grow up.

It is true, however, that certain personality traits that would likely be frowned upon in polite society are perfectly suited to the business world. Psychopaths (the term sociopath is also used almost synonymously in most articles on the subject) have many personality traits that are perfect for the boardroom.

They have no problems with dishonesty, have an inflated self-esteem, lack empathy, do not take responsibility for their own actions, are manipulative and creative.

If your company is in trouble or you need to make tough decisions, you want to call Hannibal Lecter, not one of those superficial consultant types. You want Anthony Hopkins, not George Clooney from Up In The Air.

I asked a gaming executive about his behavior at the board level. “Hyper-aggressive behavior, self-promotion, and a little sociopathy are beneficial if you want to get to the top,” he said. “It doesn’t help you when you’re there, but it definitely helps you get there.”

Their desire for anonymity was probably due to fear for their lives. As I pursued this line of thought, I discovered that scientists estimate that up to 15% of top managers exhibit psychopathic traits.

That makes perfect sense. We’re talking about people who can fill a room with charm, who show a certain assertiveness and, in some situations, even dominance. People who have to convince others of their vision in order to be able to realize it.

The personality cult

It is not just about intelligence or even competence, because in a world where shareholders have so much power, leaders need charisma. People have to believe They are more of a personality cult than anything else.

If you don’t believe me about the cult, just look at how many modern CEOs and business leaders are worshipped: Steve Jobs, Elon Musk. Or even Donald Trump, a man who conspired to cause multiple bankruptcies at a time when having a banjo-playing monkey on the Atlantic City boardwalk would have made you a millionaire.

A CEO is now part of your corporate image, part of the brand you present to your end consumer. If your CEO is investigated for any suspicious activity, it is no longer swept under the carpet. The damage to the brand is too great. When even the Catholic Church has recognized this, you know that we are living in a new, brave age.

Set the tone

In this sense, CEOs also set boundaries for behavior. They set examples; people will cross boundaries if they are not clear and explicit and established at all levels. As my unnamed boss said, “The perfect archetype for the modern CEO is one that his front-line employees love him and his leadership team cowers before him.”

But this psychopath thing is disturbing, isn’t it? But don’t get too hung up on the terminology.

Karen Landay, now an assistant professor of management at the G Brint Ryan College of Business at the University of North Texas, told Forbes a few years ago: “Clinical psychopathy is a personality disorder and is diagnosed by a doctor.

“That’s not what we’re talking about when we talk about psychopathic CEOs. We’re just talking about people who have really, really crappy personalities.”

But not Gavin. And I’m not just saying that because I think he’s going to beat me up.

Jon Bruford has worked in the gaming industry for over 17 years, formerly as Managing Editor of Casino International and currently as Publishing Director at The Gaming Boardroom, alongside Kate Chambers and Greg Saint. He owns a large dog with a sensitive stomach and spends his free time reading up on stain removal.