Leaders, better without narcissism

Needless to say, no one is perfect, even to add that some of us go quite far; of course and in general, we usually lack self-criticism and we are not very receptive to feedback. Almost all of us fail in self-knowledge and are not even aware of it.

This seems to be the case, although in this regard the case of those affected by a narcissistic disorder, whose mind is altered with the sublimation of the self; they come to be considered essential and hardly perfectible, and the high concept they have of themselves is truly obvious.

Index

1. What a narcissistic leader is like
2. Opinions and reflections
3. Approach
4. Final critique

There are, of course, people who we can consider superior to the rest in diverse aspects that they have known how to develop, and it is logical that the rest of us display the corresponding recognition. In all settings, and certainly in organizations, there are certainly excellent ones at something; but it seems that

As is well known, in these cases the behavior can be noticeably antisocial, however and except concurrently, we should not consider them perverse but as narcissists. In reality, each individual is unique, and they are those who present the personality disorder that concerns us; a visible disorder that can be related to the professional position and the power administered.

This leads us to focus on leaders, the powerful, widely understood by the collective (although narcissism to a pathological degree affects a small minority).

There are, of course, in public and private matters, numerous exemplary or simply competent managers, as there are also those who are not so effective, nor so upright, nor so esteemed; but it is true that there are cases of narcissism incipient or chronic, with mild or severe symptoms, with very possible negative consequences and with different causes.

As he climbs and takes advantage of the power achieved to stay or continue climbing, the subject may already be untouchable when he emerges or is consolidates this personality disorder, which can of course also appear in younger managers, perhaps after some early bad success. digested. There is room for many reflections, but let's close preliminaries.

About ten years ago, I read an article by a consultant friend and came across the idea that Managers had to be "a bit narcissistic."

I have not retrieved the text, although I remember that because I frowned. In reality, and if that is the case, many of us may be somewhat narcissistic, and we may even have occasionally suffered from various mental disorders, or displayed irrational behaviors; The fact is that I had indeed incubated a certain sensitivity to narcissism, after interacting some time ago with a manager singular (with him the signature faded and would end up disappearing) that, in my particular way of seeing, had been conceited, a carrier of transcendental mission, and hungry for recognition and subordination (all accompanied, however, by gestures and features that seemed to me healthy).

Some time later I learned about another possible revealing case. This time the individual seemed very vain and obsessed with the envy of which he believed himself to be the object, while some of the merits that he rarely forgot to display were known to be falsified. Always at the risk of being wrong, I might add that he had more flatterers than directive of the previous paragraph and that, by tending to abstraction, I do not know if it sometimes ended in the delirium. By the way and by then, I began to believe that, when in doubt, if a person rejected flattery, he was probably not a narcissist; I also thought that narcissism never completes the semblance and you have to look at more things... Let's get to the nitty-gritty.

This summer, surfing the Internet - they could be very particular, but then the impulse to write these reflections arose - I came across various ideas about the narcissism of managers, in formulations that seemed linked to the thinking of authors such as M. Maccoby or S. Crompton. For example, it was suggested that executives had to have a high (now it was "elevated") dose of narcissism. Such a thing seemed to hold for the benefit of a certain productive narcissism.

I also observed, now on another page, that some advantages of a narcissistic leadership were pointed out, and also they continued to speak positively of the so-called productive narcissism. I immediately thought that you can and should be productive without being narcissistic, and that leaders can and should lead effectively, without presenting any disorder or disorder in their personality. Soon I came across something that was especially sonorous to me: it was said that the productive narcissist is the one who comes closest to the idea we have of a great leader. Stopped in this sentence, I wondered what was meant by a great leader and what would that narcissism that sought to enrich leadership consist of?

It was said that these productive, charming and daring narcissists seduce others with their dialectics, they possess perspective to be good strategists, and seek the power to do great things, leave a legacy and generate satisfaction in their environment; that ambitious and attractive challenges arise that other individuals, more attentive to the real possibilities, would not consider themselves.

With a certain dependence on the means used and the ends achieved, all this seemed very positive to me; but I was reluctant to link it so closely to narcissism. Rather, I thought that they were effective leaders who, if they were really narcissistic, success would have gone to their heads; they would be productive narcissists, rather than productive narcissists… And I kept thinking about it.

Is it possible to read this disorder that includes positive traits to the point of betting, as it seemed to be done, on the presence of narcissism in managers-leaders? Is there in this disorder particular traits that catalyze the best manifestation of leadershipso that they are lacking for the non-narcissistic leader? I continued with the subject because it seemed to me that a certain defense of narcissism was being made (beyond that typically the narcissist tends to lead and without forgetting that he also tends to lead, capitalize…).

Of course, there are worse personalities than the narcissist and many of us have had our minds deranged at times; but not it would be better to avoid any mint messl, even to a slight or passing degree? Isn't it safer for organizations to be run by mentally healthy, self-critical, realistic, judicious, empathetic people, with both wide-angle and telephoto vision? Is the narcissistic personality precisely ideal to lead certain organizations, or to carry out special tasks?

I presumed assent, even in the last question, remembering, for example, that there seem to be organizations more given in appearance than in being.

In its most visible degree, narcissism (egotism, arrogance, megalomania, vanity ...) seemed to me negative although not appreciably generalized; But I did find that some of the beliefs that might have been revised and modeled in managers (especially in businessmen and senior positions) had come to seem somewhat frequent.

It seems that they had instilled a particular ideology or they had incubated it themselves, built on premises such as the following, carried with a certain excess: that they have been chosen by nature, that the manager-leader is the hero of the company, that the rules are not for them and they are allowed procedures or means special, that the workers are mere human resources and are not capable of starring in their task, or that the business is the business, this at all costs fair).

In many of these managers of particular mental models, one would also include traits such as awareness that there are no better ideas or opinions than yours, the eagerness to stand out, the well-learned Gracian prudence, a specific relational protocol, a a certain dress code, a sensitive gestural restraint or a visibly dialectic manicured-cultivated.

Perhaps what is understood by a small dose of narcissism has to do with some of this, although it could also be the effects of the position and its load of pressure, of a particular cultivation of authority, of the awareness of being observed, of the desire to grow, of one's own profile personal…

It really seems to be appreciated in not a few managers - this is what I wanted to emphasize above all - a need to manage freely behind their ends, regardless of functional rigidities (be these of corporate origin or of legal). It is a characteristic that is perhaps more evident in narcissists, although (as is also the case with manipulation, lack of empathy, the thirst for power, the desire to pretend…) Can occur in some managers-leaders who are difficult, however, to qualify as narcissists.

In fact, it would seem that almost all of us have at some time looked for venial shortcuts to circumvent procedures and regulations in our organizations; but it is also a fact that, in the high and not so high management of public and private matters, illegitimate shortcuts have been resorted to at times that even make the news.

Indeed and in truth, there seem to be too many great, and not so great, political and business leaders of our time who have broken the moral and legal norms. It is easier for one to link some of these great leaders to immorality than to so-called productive narcissism as was done in what I read; but it is not possible to generalize and each case is unique among leaders, among followers, among narcissists, among flatterers, among the corrupt, among the upright ...

In the little read on the Internet, I did not find detailed mention of this skipping the moral and legal norms (it is about operative or greedy corruption), but the narcissist, productive or unproductive, seems to everything. It would seem that, feeling so exceptional, so superior, of such high rank, he does not seem to see obstacles insurmountable for their ambitious goals, which could be taken, depending on the point of observation, as positive or negative.

One thinks here that the corrupt narcissist should be regarded more as corrupt than as a narcissist; and adds that there seem to be corrupt (operative and greedy) without showing us narcissistic... Complex the thing and already inviting the interested reader to reach their own conclusions, I am finishing.

Conclusions

If indeed some dose of narcissism were celebrated in the managers, or this mental disorder was widely understood in the collective, then perhaps we would have to agree to those who come to denounce the elite mentality, of category, of high mission, of Gracian prudence, with which they would be educating and flattering future managers-leaders in some training programs.

Then, in managerial performance, it would be the salary level that could nurture the disorder... In any case, it may be necessary to review mental models already from business schools, both to avoid narcissism and to question the aims pursued and the means deployed.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Leaders, better without narcissism, we recommend that you enter our category of Coaching.