The Perils of Epicaricacy: A Quiet Leadership Instinct I Had to Unlearn. I didn’t recognize it the first time it happened. A competitor I knew reasonably well lost a key regulatory approval. Nothing dramatic, no headlines, no scandal. Just a delayed expansion that quietly stalled their momentum. I remember reading the update on my phone between meetings. My first reaction wasn’t concern.
It was relief. I didn’t smile. I didn’t say anything out loud. But internally, something loosened. Pressure eased. The bar felt lower for a moment. And that’s what bothered me later, not the thought itself, but how natural it felt. There’s a word for that reaction: epicaricacy. Most people know it as schadenfreude—taking pleasure, however small, in someone else’s misfortune. I used to think this was a personal flaw you either had or didn’t. Over time, I’ve come to see it differently. In senior leadership roles, especially in competitive and regulated environments, this instinct is surprisingly easy to acquire and dangerously hard to notice. Not because leaders are malicious. But because the conditions quietly reward it. I know some will agree and others won’t. But this exist.