jennifer maravillas FOR HBR

Biographers have long been interested in exploring the psychological issues that drove and afflicted great thinkers and achievers such as Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. In her new book, Andy Warhol was a Hoarder: Inside the Minds of History’s Great Personalities, medical and science journalist Claudia Kalb looks at twelve famous figures and weighs the evidence suggesting that each suffered from a different kind of mental health condition. While not a business book per se, her work does have relevance as more people are becoming aware of mental illness as a workplace issue. Kalb spoke with HBR about how mental health conditions can be particularly relevant in understanding entrepreneurs. Edited excerpts:

One of the themes in your book is that people with mental illness often find ways to turn their behaviors into an advantage, and in fact there’s emerging research on this phenomenon among entrepreneurs. How common is this?

You have to remember that mental illness exists on a spectrum. At one end are people who are unable to function — think of someone lying in bed with severe depression. Being productive would be out of the question. But someone who comes out of a bout of depression and is back at work may have a greater ability to empathize, and to see situations more realistically without excessive optimism. There’s a whole area of research into so-called “depressive realism.” Abraham Lincoln, who I write about in my book, is often cited as a leader who suffered depression, and there are many theories about how his melancholy and depressive character fueled his ability to understand the realities of the Civil War, and to be sensitive to what was happening on both sides. He also used work as a way to get himself out of his melancholy, so there is a sense that the condition may have helped motivate him. This doesn’t happen in every case, of course, but there have been books written about people for whom mental illness helps propel them to a position they might not otherwise attain.

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What other mental illnesses figure prominently in entrepreneurial narratives?

The most common one may be narcissism. Frank Lloyd Wright is a good example. He had classic narcissistic qualities — a sense of grandiosity, superiority, a huge and complete belief in his aesthetic sensibility, and disregard for architecture that did not live up to his standard. Narcissists also have an ability to be charming, and to lure people into their orbit. That’s obviously useful for an entrepreneur. The issue is that while these qualities may make you a good leader, they may not make you a winning boss. Employees often feel that narcissistic bosses are ruthless or lacking in empathy. Also, unlike people with depression or anxiety disorders, narcissists don’t suffer as much personally from their condition — but the way they behave can be much harder on the people around them.

That sounds a lot like Steve Jobs.

That’s right — he’s often cited as an example. There are many researchers looking into narcissism in business. They’re conducting surveys of executives, entrepreneurs, even MBA students. It makes sense that people who are risk-takers, who have high self-confidence and a sense of superiority may be better equipped to rise above competitors. Other kinds of mental health conditions can be more immobilizing. It’s much more difficult to think about an anxiety disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder helping a person excel in business. Howard Hughes, who I wrote about in my book, was a successful entrepreneur, but in the latter part of his life, as his OCD characteristics became worse, he became totally isolated. He couldn’t interact with people in business or in society.

What about ADD or ADHD and its effect on entrepreneurs?

That’s often seen as a positive quality in entrepreneurs. People who have ADD tend to be risk-takers, have high energy and drive, and are always on the go. David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue, is often cited as an example of this. While there can be downsides to having ADD, it isn’t perceived as negatively as narcissism, since the qualities of entitlement and superiority can take such a big toll on colleagues and subordinates.

Tech leaders, like Bill Gates, are sometimes described as having symptoms suggestive of Asperger’s. Does that sound plausible?

I don’t know about Bill Gates — I haven’t studied him. And what used to be called Asperger’s is now folded into the broader term Autism Spectrum Disorder. But yes, there is interesting research looking into a possible link between scientific talent or even genius and Asperger’s. Albert Einstein is one example. His ability to withdraw into his mind and be hyper-focused, to really zone everything else out, was an important part of how he made discoveries. But it also caused some problems for him. As a teacher, he was disorganized — he wasn’t very clear in how he presented information to students. In a business setting, that could be a problem. People with Asperger’s often experience difficulty when it comes to social interaction, social bonding, and effective communication. However, sometimes they are such geniuses at what they do that people overlook their differences. That could be the case with leaders of tech companies.

Do you think someone with a mental illness is more likely to thrive in a smaller, entrepreneurial setting, instead of in a bureaucratic environment?

That’s an interesting idea. Hypothetically, in a smaller place, if you have some of the characteristics we’ve been talking about — which might appear eccentric or quirky — people may be more accepting, because it’s a smaller community of employees. There’s probably more opportunity to be open, and if somebody has a mental health condition that he’s able to acknowledge and get treatment for, he’s in a better position to succeed than someone who’s floundering or doesn’t understand the detrimental impact the condition is having on his work. Stigma stems from not understanding what mental health conditions are all about, and not realizing that we all have at least some of these characteristics. We all have a little bit of an impulse to hoard, or to be obsessive or compulsive, or to exhibit signs of ADD. Part of the reason to learn more about these conditions is not to label people, but to better understand where people are coming from — and how, in a business setting, some of these attributes can be positive.