Narcissistic Leadership
Narcissistic leadership is a leadership style in which the leader is only interested in him. Narcissists are good for companies that need people with vision and the courage to take them in new directions. Such leaders sometime might be highly successful, but is it a style to be followed. Learn the various types of narcissistic leadership and the characteristics of such leaders.
What is Narcissistic leadership?
Freud named the narcissistic personality after the mythical Greek hero; Narcissus, who became pathologically obsessed with himself and his reflection, an obsession that ultimately ended his life (Maccoby, 2000).
Sigmund Freud (1931) defined a narcissistic personality type as an individual whose main interest is self-preservation, is independent and impossible to intimidate. Freud (1931) suggested that individuals belonging to this type of personality group impress others as being strong personalities, and are especially suited to act as bastions for others, essentially in leadership roles.
Narcissistic leadership is a leadership style in which the leader is only interested in him. Their priority is themselves - at the expense of their people/group members. This leader exhibits the characteristics of a narcissist: arrogance, dominance, and hostility. It is a common leadership style. A study published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin suggests that when a group is without a leader, you can often count on a narcissist to take charge. Researchers found that people who score high in narcissism tend to take control of leaderless groups.
Narcissism may range from anywhere between healthy and destructive. To critics, "narcissistic leadership (preferably destructive) is driven by unyielding arrogance, self-absorption, and a personal egotistic need for power and admiration.
Types of Narcissistic leadership:
There are four basic types of a leader with narcissists:
1. Authoritarian: With task-oriented decision making
2. Democratic: With task-oriented decision making
3. Authoritarian: With emotional decision making
4. Democratic: With emotional decision making
Characteristics of Narcissistic leadership:
1. Narcissists leaders profess company loyalty but are only really committed to their own agendas.
2. They pursue their own interests rather than the interests of the organization
3. Their organizational decisions are highly influenced by their personal agendas
4. Productive Narcissists have an interrelated set of skills, foresight, systems thinking, visioning, motivating, and partnering
5. Productive narcissists tend to be over-sensitive to criticism, over-competitive, isolated, and grandiose
6. Productive narcissists have a sense of freedom to do whatever they want rather than feeling constantly constrained by circumstances
7. Productive narcissists through their charisma are able to draw people into their vision and gather many followers who follow them.
8. Narcissists Leadership is good for companies that need people with vision and the courage to take them in new directions.
9. Narcissists Leadership can also lead companies into trouble by refusing to listen to the advice and warnings of their managers.
10. Narcissists Leaders have difficulty in forging long-term relationships because they are continuously seeking recognition from others to reinforce their own self-worth.
11. As leaders, narcissistic individuals have fantasies of power and success, an exaggerated, grandiose sense of self-importance, and little empathy or concern for the feelings and needs of others (Yukl, 2002).
12. Such innate characteristics lead to the exploitation and manipulation of others for the primary purpose of indulging a narcissistic leader’s desire for personal enhancement. They expect special favors without feeling any need to reciprocate, oversimplify relationships and motives and have extremely bipolar worldviews; seeing things as either extremely good or extremely bad and see others around them as either loyal supporters or mortal enemies (Yukl, 2002).
Conclusion:
Narcissists, by definition, are arrogant, have splendid visions about their own importance, believe they are special and have unique gifts that others do not, have a sense of entitlement, are exploitive, and lack empathy. These qualities are not considered to be desirable leadership traits by most scholars. However, they could be highly successful in certain circumstances where the organization wants to pursue a new line of business that faces resistance within the organization. They could be highly effective in transforming phases as they are strategic thinkers who can see the big picture and take risky challenges.
Related Links
You May Also Like
-
This style is characterized by leaders making decisions for others and expecting followers to follow instructions. The directive leader is adept at giving instructions, setting expectations, and establishing timelines and performance standards. However, it is possible for the same leaders to display both directive and supportive behavior as per the demands of the situation.
-
Participative leadership is one of the most effective styles and creates higher productivity, better contributions from group members, and increased group morale. The democratic leadership style consists of the leader sharing the decision-making abilities with group members by promoting the interests of the group members. Learn more about this leadership style and situations when it is effective.
-
What are the functions which a leader does to establish as a leader? What are the activities undertaken by them to become great leaders, rather revolutionary leaders? The most important tasks done by a leader in all situations are defining the vision, mission, and goals, leading the team, administrative functions, motivating followers, decision making and conflict resolution, and continuous development.
-
Understanding of how individuals of different cultures interact with each other is very important. Not all individuals can adapt to the leadership styles expected in a different culture whether that culture is organizational or national. In a fast-paced business environment, developing a richer understanding and sensitivity to other cultures is a skill that leaders must possess. Learn to be effective in a cross-cultural setting.
-
Authentic leadership is an approach to leadership that emphasizes building the leader's legitimacy through honest relationships with followers which value their input and are built on an ethical foundation. The authentic leader acts upon his or her values and beliefs, and inspires others to do the same, is committed to know and develop oneself. Are you committed to developing yourself; know your motivations and the purpose of your leadership? Read this article to know more about authentic leadership style and discovering your authentic self.
-
Have you ever resonated that there seem to be as many different ways to lead people as there have been great leaders? When we recall the success of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon Bonaparte to Steve Jobs and Jack Welch, we also notice that they all used different approaches that were suitable to their specific situations and circumstances. Over the last century, researchers and psychologists have developed simple ways to describe the “Styles of leadership” and in this section, we will explore these commonly known leadership styles.
-
Narcissistic leadership is a leadership style in which the leader is only interested in him. Narcissists are good for companies that need people with vision and the courage to take them in new directions. Such leaders sometime might be highly successful, but is it a style to be followed. Learn the various types of narcissistic leadership and the characteristics of such leaders.
-
Facilitative Leadership is all about involving the employees in the decision-making process at all levels enhancing their sense of ownership, responsibility, and motivation. Facilitative leadership style uses a number of indirect communication patterns to help the group reach consensus and build commitment for the decision taken. To be effective in modern organizations, managers need to become facilitative leaders, learn what it means to be a one.
-
Crisis leadership is a very important part of leading in today's world. The skills a leader needs in order to guide people during a crisis are different from the skills needed to help a group grow. Are you a good crisis leader? What is your leadership style in case of a business crisis situation? A business crisis can test the strongest of leaders, read this article to explore how to ensure you’re ready to take action and weather the storm when one strikes you.
-
We define Lean as the systematic elimination of waste through a continual effort to decrease inefficiency; the lean leader strives to create a more efficient organization. Lean leadership is a philosophy. It is a consistent way of thinking and being in your role as a leader. The focus of this approach is on raising new leaders and help their team embrace a culture of continuous improvement. Learn what we mean by lean leadership style and its principles.
