Leadership, Management & Life in the Workplace
  • Blog
  • About John
  • Decoding the Workplace
  • Dr. Juran AIG Archival Project
  • Contact
  • Disclaimers

The Narcissistic Leader

10/30/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
How does a narcissistic leader affect an organization? In Decoding the Workplace I differentiated healthy narcissistic leaders from unhealthy ones, stating “healthy narcissistic leaders understand their strengths and know when to seek the advice of others” (pp. 105-106). In a 2014 blog I shared findings from a literature review of narcissists.
 
In a 2018 The Leadership Quarterly article, Charles O’Reilly III (Stanford), Bernadette Doerr (UC,Berkeley), and Jennifer Chatman (UC,Berkeley) concluded “although some researchers have suggested that narcissistic CEOs may have a positive influence on organizational performance . . . a growing body of evidence suggests that organizations led by narcissistic CEOs experience considerable downsides.” Their research focused on “grandiose narcissism” in which the narcissist is highly assertive, extroverted, with high self-esteem. Characteristics include:
  •  Inflated sense of entitlement
  •  Unrealistic sense of personal superiority
  •  Viewing others as inferior
  •  Overconfidence
  • “Willingness to manipulate others”
  • “Hostility and aggression when challenged”
In reviewing studies of narcissistic leaders, they found narcissistic leaders:
  • “More likely to emerge as leaders”
  • “Charming,” good first impressions
  •  More persistent at focusing on task at hand
  • “More willing to take chances”
  • “Overly confident about own judgment”
  • “Discount negative feedback”
  • “See others as less competent”
  •  Pursue activities and strategies that are self-enhancing.
  • “Believe themselves less vulnerable to being penalized for their overconfidence”
  • “Lower in integrity”
  • “More likely to engage in unethical behavior”
  •  More likely “to engage in sexual harassment”
  •  More likely to bully others
  •  Inhibit the exchange of information among group members
Studies indicate narcissistic CEOs more likely to:
  • “Manipulate corporate earnings”
  • “Aggressively avoid paying taxes”
  •  Produce financial reports “with lower accounting quality”
  • “Misreport financial status”
  •  To “be at risk of committing fraud”
O’Reilly and his colleagues reported two experimental studies and a field study of 32 technology companies. Their field study found companies with more narcissistic CEOs had “more lawsuits filed against them and the lawsuits” endured “for longer periods of time.” Companies “with more narcissistic CEOs are more likely to be sued and this litigation will take longer to be resolved.”
 
My take-aways:
 
1.  Hiring: It may be difficult to identify unhealthy narcissists when hiring. References may or may not be forthcoming with accurate assessments. In interviewing notice how much credit the potential hire gives to others when discussing accomplishments. There is advice online about how to tell when hiring if someone is a narcissist but I would need to see the research before recommending.
 
2. Promoting: Interestingly highly narcissistic leaders get promoted. They charm, take credit for accomplishments, and so forth. Where input can be obtained from subordinates, such as in a 360-degree assessment, the organization should obtain more information and perhaps a more accurate picture. 
 
3. Managing: Those who supervise a highly narcissistic individual who is damaging the morale or financial health of the organization should do their jobs. Be accountable and hold that individual accountable. Corporate boards should do likewise. 
 
O'Reilly III, C. A., Doerr, B., & Chatman, J. A. (2018). "See you in court": How CEO narcissism increases firms' vulnerability to lawsuits. The Leadership Quarterly, 29, 365-378.
 
Image, "Narcissism", by Jills. Image altered from the original image at https://pixabay.com/en/narcissism-narcissist-shadow-bad-3752409/  Used in accordance with: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en
​
© John Ballard, PhD, 2018. All rights reserved.
 _________________________
Decoding the Workplace “deals with principles and practices that are timeless . . . Is this a must-have for managers and would-be managers? Yes.” Academy of Management Learning & Education, June, 2018. Now also available as an audiobook. 

0 Comments

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    RSS Feed