Narcissism in Organizational Leadership Fredah Mainah, MBA ...

Running head: NARCISSISM IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP 1

Narcissism in Organizational Leadership

Fredah Mainah, MBA, MA
511 Campbell Avenue, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49006

Email: [email protected]
Cell: 269-250-0773

Vernita Perkins, MA
10061 Riverside Drive, #700, Toluca Lake, CA 91602

Email: [email protected]
Cell: 310-658-6671

NARCISSISM IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP 2

Abstract
This paper reviewed literature to explore the concept of narcissism, describe its nature, and
summarize what other researchers are reporting about its effect on organizational leadership, and
specifically on followers. Through content analysis of articles, dissertations and other
publications, using narcissism and narcissistic leadership as the key words, this paper found
followers of narcissistic leaders suffer low self-esteem, experience unhealthy levels of stress and
low job satisfaction. Some followers were found to suffer extreme emotional stress and either
quit their jobs or frequently sought therapy. Extreme narcissism was also found to be destructive
on the leader as it estranged them from the very people the leader was trying to successfully lead.
Research determined more males than females espouse this leadership style. Narcissism is
frequently associated with charismatic leadership, however, the few benefits of the narcissistic
construct, do not outweigh the disadvantages, and the consistent outcome of counterproductive
work behavior exhibited by both leader and follower. Narcissism is characterized by perverse
self-love, vanity, a sense of entitlement, exploiting others, a desire for power and esteem, and an
inflated self-view. An increased awareness of what narcissism is may reduce follower stress and
equip followers with skills to manage and make a narcissistic leader more accountable and
ethical, which might eventually reduce the prevalence of narcissistic leadership, and increase
organizational success and wellbeing.

Keywords: narcissism, narcissistic leadership, followership, feminine leadership,
altruistic leadership, gender, social-personality, Narcissistic Personality
Inventory (NPI), follower effectiveness, follower wellbeing, effective
leadership, counterproductive work behavior (CWB), authentic leadership

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Narcissism in Organizational Leadership
Our history is riddled with stories about self-aggrandized leaders who charismatically
drive organizations and organizational members to great success and profit, yet on a
psychological level, these narcissistic leaders leave behind disenfranchised followers, burdened
with negative experiences of organizational leadership.
Grijalva and Harms (2014) report public interest in narcissism has increased. Narcissism
has been used as a discernible construct in social-personality literature to describe destructive
organizational behaviors of CEOs and politicians, characterized by psychological components
including arrogance, haughtiness, and low levels of empathy and emotional intimacy. A widely
used measure of narcissism is the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), a forty-item choice
test developed by Raskin and Hall (1979). Some researchers were found to support a three-factor
model with dimensions of Leadership/Authority, Grandiose Exhibitionism, and
Entitlement/Exploitativeness proposed by Robert Emmons (1984).
An understanding of narcissism and its effect on leadership and followers is crucial for
organizational wellbeing, effectiveness, and success. Many organizations have reported
experiencing high levels of managerial incompetence associated with unethical behaviors by
their narcissistic leaders.
Theoretical Approaches
On the etiology of narcissism, most of the researchers whose work was reviewed for this
paper based their studies on social learning, trait and leadership theories of power motivation,
attachment theory, accountability theory, transformational leadership, transactional leadership
and charismatic leadership (Ackerman et al., 2011; Yang, 2009; Rosenthal & Pittinsky, 2006;
Maccoby, 2003; Raskin, 1981). Some took perspectives in support of the view that narcissism is

NARCISSISM IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP 4

a positive dimension for leadership while others approached it as cultural, and still others as a
clinical entity (Millon & Davis, 2000; Emmons, 1987; Raskin, 1981). Factors contributing to
narcissistic behavior were said to include cultural, environmental, idiosyncratic factors and
structural factors.

Although power was found by most researchers to be one of the greatest motivators for
narcissistic leaders, non-narcissistic leaders who were high in power motivation were found to
also seek strength from power but by influencing followers, focusing on collective success rather
than intimidating followers and pursuing individual achievement (Ackerman et al., 2011; Yang,
2009; Rosenthal & Pittinsky, 2006; Maccoby, 2003; Millon & Davis, 2000; Emmons, 1987;
Raskin, 1981; McClelland & Burnham, 1976). “Leaders high in power motivation are not
concerned with being liked, but unlike narcissists, they are concerned with having a positive
impact on others” (Rosenthal & Pittinsky, 2006, p. 627).

The cultural and psychoanalytic approaches were viewed as unjustified in that they
attempted to describe an entire culture with a single clinical concept. The Dimaggio and
colleagues’ model (2002) also integrates the use of values in light of affective deficits. Every
action performed by the narcissist is completed according to a predetermined set of values or an
end-state scenario that is in mind.
Defining and Categorizing Narcissism

Narcissism is defined by Campbell et al. (2010) as grandiosity, perverse self-love, vanity,
a sense of entitlement, exploiting others, a desire for power and esteem, and inflated self-views
containing three components including the self, interpersonal relationships, and self-regulatory
strategies. The term narcissism first appeared in 1898 (Grijalva & Harms, 2014) linked to
Narcissus from Greek mythology, who obsessively adored his own image. Historically,

NARCISSISM IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP 5

narcissism and its archetypes originate from psychoanalytic thought and Greek mythology, and
manifests in nine different types, which include: craver, special lover, martyr, rescuer, rager,
trickster, body shaper, power broker, and fantasy maker.

The American Psychiatric Association (2000) defines it as a pervasive pattern of overt
grandiosity, self-focus, and self-importance behavior, displayed by an individual or group of
individuals, and lists the guideline by which to identify it: grandiose sense of self-importance,
preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success and/or power, belief in unique status, need for
excessive admiration, unreasonable sense of entitlement, conscious exploitation of others, lack of
empathy, envious of others, and arrogant behavior directed towards others. Leaders displaying
any five of these behaviors are categorized as having a Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Major types of narcissism that were identified include reactive, self-deceptive, and
constructive (Cassano, 2001; Ket de Vries & Miller, 1985) with results of managerial
incompetence, inability to maintain relationships within a network or build a team, and never
learning from failure. A major characteristic of narcissists lies in their ability to link an inner
state with relationship variables. Others include classic/overt narcissist, inverted narcissist,
cerebral narcissist, somatic narcissist, covert or stealth narcissist, elite narcissist, narcissistic
psychopath—unprincipled, amorous, compensatory, elitist and fanatic (Millon & Davis, 1996).
Narcissistic Leader Impact on Followers

Given that narcissistic leaders tend to surround themselves with unquestioning followers
and that narcissistic-charismatic leaders develop parental relationships with selected followers
(Blair, Hoffman & Helland, 2008), these leaders are therefore likely to receive little resistance
from their followers. It also forces the follower to be bound to egoistic desires for retaliation and
vindictive actions such as sabotaging the company. Additionally, the extent of time spent with

NARCISSISM IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP 6

the leaders and followers caught in complex webs of workplace bullying, egos, retaliation, and
other subcultural pursuits, keeps the organization from running smoothly even if it appears on
the surface to be running well. In fact, the breakdown of organizational systems through these
pockets of dysfunction, create shortfalls to organizational structures similar to the impact of
mold, asbestos, and termites in a home. The back and forth of this leader-follower-leader
exchange creates enough negativity to derail organizational goals and vision. This type of
leadership does not go unnoticed by clients and workgroups or organizational members outside
direct association to the leader.

The argument persists claiming narcissism has valuable qualities for leadership. Grijalva,
(2013) insists narcissism builds self-esteem and self-confidence and produces results in crisis
situations. We offer that although this may have been true in the past, especially in times of war,
or may even be true today in times of combating terrorists, there are many other and clearly
better ways to develop self-esteem and self-confidence, and to support organizational success
without the negative impacts of narcissism.

Rosenthal and Pittinsky (2006) suggest “an examination of the dynamics between
leaders’ psychological motivations and behaviors and the motivations and behaviors of the
constituents and institutions they lead” (p.630). Grijalva and Harms (2014) found that for the
high benefits narcissistic leaders bring to the workplace, there are significant costs to followers
from their counterproductive work behavior. In charismatic leadership, Grijalva and Harms
(2014) found negative relations to altruism and ethical behaviors. Poor follower outcomes are
the product of narcissistic leaders’ complex and impractical visualizations (Sankowsky, 1995).
Narcissism subsists on a high and low continuum, which impacts workplace productivity
(Grijalva & Harms, 2014). Narcissistic leaders demonstrate a distorted self-image, which causes

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a selective or distorted memory recall, and produces biased and subjective interpretations of their
leadership performance should any feedback counter their self-image (Grijalva & Harms, 2014;
Cassano, 2001). “Both empirical and theoretical evidence suggests that narcissistic individuals
lack integrity” (Blair, Hoffman & Helland, 2008, p. 258). Narcissistic leaders have a higher
propensity to react on their negative emotions, particularly if their self-esteem is threatened, and
the results in the workplace create a toxic and even hostile working environment. In addition,
the negative aspects of narcissistic leadership have the potential to alter the behaviors of
impressionable followers; not to mention giving consent to these narcissistic behaviors.
Narcissistic Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness

A surprising find during research of this paper was that narcissism is not only recognized
and celebrated as a component of leadership and a charismatic trait, but it has been studied to the
extent it has become a type of leadership in itself. In fact, some leadership coaches and
researchers even recommend a moderate amount of narcissism produces effective leadership
outcomes (Grijalva, 2013). Jorstad (1996) and Campbell (2001) argued that narcissism is a
character trait and a state of mind, which changes based on circumstances and is necessary if the
circumstances are competitive or hostile. Narcissists actively seek leadership roles, yet
narcissistic leadership negatively predicted servant leadership, which has a positive correlation to
concern for followers’ needs, financial performance and personal integrity (Grijalva & Harms,
2014).

The NPI measures narcissism as a personality trait in social psychological research. This
instrument reveals narcissistic categories including corporate narcissism characterized by these
four states: an authoritarian with task-oriented decision making, democratic with task-oriented
decision making, authoritarian with emotional decision making, and democratic with emotional

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decision making. Raskin and Hall (1979) set out to measure authority, superiority,
exhibitionism, entitlement, vanity, exploitativeness, and self-sufficiency among other variables.
Other researchers, dissatisfied with Raskin and Hall’s categories, have developed their own tool
ranging from three to eight factors, that they suggest is more descriptive of narcissism not as a
trait or leadership style but as a phenomenon (Ouimet, 2010; Resick, et al. 2009; Rosenthal &
Pittinsky, 2006; Millon & Davis, 2000; Millon & Davis, 1996).

From a mental health perspective, common workplace neurotic styles of narcissism were
found to include these types: explosive, implosive, abrasive, narcissistic, apprehensive,
compulsive, and the impulsive (Humphreys et al., 2010; Cassano, 2001). Neurotic tendencies
were found to be feelings of entitlement, excessive demand for attention, and pursuing power
and prestige at any cost. Results of destructive narcissism were found to be loneliness,
depression, inability to self reflect, inability to be introspective, fear of envy, and inability to
understand one’s situational perceptions (Ket de Vries, 2003; 1985); all of which have significant
negative impact on organizational effectiveness. The traps of narcissism, however, negatively
possess the leader to the extent the leader is unable to liberate from its hold. Kets de Vries
(1985) describes this hopeless state as a thing so strange or a double-edged sword because, like
the old adage, too much of it is poisonous and yet too little of it can be seen as lack of self-
confidence or leadership ineffectiveness.

In an attempt and motivated to protect their identities, destructive narcissistic leaders
continue down a path of conscious self-destruction. Followers of destructive narcissistic leaders
are advised to recognize that the leader is an emotionally disturbed person, to relinquish efforts
to change the leader, and either seek alternative employment; or should the follower decide to
remain under this leadership, to remain calm, not take their criticism personally, document all

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communications with leader, and not to confront the destructive narcissist directly as it may lead
to increase in the leader’s paranoia, rage or vindictive retaliation (Humphreys et al., 2010;
Ouimet, 2010; Rosenthal and Pittinsky, 2006; Raskin and Hall, 1979).

Clements and Washbrush (1999) argue that lack of acknowledgement of the role of
followers and ignoring the negative and toxic relationship that results from having a narcissist
leader distorts the leader-follower dynamics and undermines authenticity. Duchon and Burns
also argue that over time every organization develops its own identity, which is reinforced and
imitated by followers through shared assumptions, practices, ideologies, and perceptions about
identity ultimately mirroring the leader’s narcissism into extreme organizational narcissism. At
this point, the organization loses touch with its clients and markets, eventually destroying
organizational members and organizations (Duchon & Burns, 2008).

Considering the attraction of narcissists to leadership, the tendency for narcissists to
emerge within originations as leaders and the negative impact of their self-image obsession on
organizational effectiveness, organizations may consider interventions to screen for narcissistic
leaders (Grijalva & Harms, 2014) and to impose leadership development programs that
incorporate servant leadership, altruistic leadership, authentic leadership, and ethical compliance.

The goal of most organizations is to successfully produce highly profitable products
and/or services over a long term. These organizations need to be lead by effective leaders in
order to consistently achieve such a goal. Hoffman et al. (2013) concluded that although ethical
climate did not deter narcissistic behaviors, it reduced the process of an employee rising through
the ranks and becoming a narcissistic leader without checks and balances that an ethical climate
provides. Narcissistic leaders operating in ethical environments have less impact on followers
(Grijalva & Harms, 2014), therefore ethical compliance would be yet another positive solution to

NARCISSISM IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP 10

narcissistic leadership.
Gender in Narcissistic Leadership

Scholars and experts agree men and women lead differently (Jorstad, 1996; Raskin &
Hall, 1979). Thus, we propose that typically feminine leadership traits of collaboration,
empathy, and compassion would dilute narcissism in male leadership.

The authors found most researchers and scholars agree that the traits of selflessness,
authenticity and transformational leadership, typically present in feminine leadership, positively
impact organizations in significant and notable ways, and that women, who are more likely to
embrace such desirable characteristics, refrain more frequently than men from accepting leading
positions. For example, using “core self-evaluation” (CSE) and narcissism evaluation to provide
insights into CEO leadership styles, Resick et al. (2009) suggest “that CEOs with high CSE—a
positive trait—are more likely to engage in transformational or contingent reward leadership
while narcissists are less likely” (p. 1365). They concluded that “CEO personality characteristics
and leadership styles have implications for organizational effectiveness” (p. 1376).
Recommendations and Suggestions for Further Research

Most of the dimensions used to study narcissistic leaders were on personality, cognitive
abilities and leadership from a quantitative approach based on cultural factors, environmental,
idiosyncratic factors and structural factors. Most methods used were clinical and psychoanalytic.
With many researchers viewing narcissism and its leadership style as a pathological disorder, the
failure to agree on whether it is beneficial to organizations or not, and with others researchers
viewing it as a normal personality and leadership style, this paper offers that narcissistic leaders
need to be studied qualitatively and their stories and lived experiences explored.

NARCISSISM IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP 11

Conclusion
Unlike Grijalva (2013) and Jorstad (1996), we found no repeatedly productive utilization

for narcissistic leadership, particularly since the constructs of self-esteem and self-confidence,
which are redeemable qualities of narcissism, can be found within transformational leadership
and through self-actualization and leadership development. Therefore, we propose if narcissistic
leaders would consider engaging in leadership development, which includes training in self-
awareness, self-regulation, self-governance, servant leadership, authentic leadership, altruism,
self-confidence and self-esteem with the goal of self-actualization, these leaders over time would
have a higher potential to become effective leaders.

An increased awareness of what narcissism is may reduce follower stress and equip them
with skills to manage and make a narcissistic leader more accountable and ethical, which might
also eventually reduce the prevalence and increase organizational success and wellbeing.
Further, if the narcissistic leaders surrounded themselves with a network of non-narcissistic
people who would be committed to keeping them accountable, then they might desist from
narcissistic behavior.

Wonneberg (2007) suggests that narcissistic behavior may be the cause of high levels of
organizational leadership incompetence because as one moves higher up in organizations, their
narcissistic levels also increase. He recommended that society start “demanding for greater
corporate responsibility given the damaging effects of narcissism” (p. 82).

Considering the high-paced, profit-centered practices of business leaders and business
organizations today, we are not convinced that narcissistic leaders would be willing to engage in
our suggested level of leadership development, if they were able to identify the need in the first
place. The responsibility, then, may fall to followers of narcissistic leaders to share their

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frustrations en masse and to corporate boards of directors to intervene and insist or direct their
narcissistic leaders to participate in psychological interventions and treatment.

Additionally, ethical organizations with caring cultures remove the ripe environment for
destructive narcissistic leadership, and when servant leadership is added to the mix, the
negativity of narcissistic leadership again minimizes (Grijalva & Harms, 2014).

In the end, organizations and their clients and consumers may indeed suffer unless honest
attempts are made to manage narcissistic leadership. The transition will occur when
organizations led by effective leaders continue to thrive; and their organizational members
flourish in their work and personal lives to the degree the word spreads about the positive
influence of their ideal effective leadership.

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