Fair point, but usually this "future Sociopath" is not perceived as a low performer, at least not in the sense the article describes. He's seen as an inconsiste

Fair point, but usually this "future Sociopath" is not perceived as a low performer, at least not in the sense the article describes. He's seen as an inconsistent but capable person, and while he may not be liked, he has a certain status that keeps him from falling to the bottom. He shows early on that he can be a high performer, but he's not going to give that away lightly. The organization has to earn his respect. The article describes people being sorted into a high and low status group, from which performance variations follow. It covers the majority of cases where performance follows directly from status. The MacLeod-model Sociopath is someone who shows the capacity to perform at high levels, quite early, but also an unusual willingness to reduce his performance to zero if accorded low status. It's a "Go ahead, try to fire me" move. Sometimes (if done diplomatically) it gives him high status, begrudgingly. After all, a truly high-status person will ignore disrespectful leadership and underperform if given low status (but so will a low-status person; hence, there's a way of doing it.) More often, it leaves him ignored (rather than micromanaged) because the boss just doesn't want to deal with him, and this gives him the freedom to do whatever he wants with his time, as long as he stays out of the boss's way. Then he can usually bounce up-and-diagonal, given time.