Is Your Boss a Narcissist?

There are two sides to narcissistic behaviour in leaders.

One side exudes dominance, hostility and arrogance - and can soon turn destructive as it is often driven by a need for power and approval from others.

There is also a second, less common but much healthier form of narcissistic behaviour - and this can actually enhance a person’s leadership qualities.

Unfortunately, the first type of narcissist is much more prevalent.

This dichotomy is illustrated in a recent Dutch research study, which found that of the top 25 instances of corporate fraud carried out between 1998 and 2005, most or all of the CEOs involved displayed some narcissistic tendencies.

The study, by Professor Kees Cools of Groningen University in the Netherlands, examined only large publicly traded corporations - and interestingly, 21 out of the 25 were large American conglomerates.

The problem, according to Cools, was that having achieved great success - the CEOs wen on to set increasingly high, and ultimately unrealistic, targets for profit growth.

In other words, they began to believe their own propaganda.

Eventually, and to help protect their huge pay packets, some of them turned to illegal means to boost their company earnings.

Of course, narcissism does not necessarily lead to fraud.

However, Cools found most of these leaders clearly exhibited narcissistic danger signs.

To help understand the how a narcissistic leader thinks, it is helpful to break down some of their narcissistic traits.

These include:

1. Building an empire

A narcissistic leader wants to be the ‘centre of the universe’ and to create a long-lasting empire. Therefore they enthusiastically seek to expand their sphere of influence, by constantly working to increase their reach and authority within the organisation.2.

2. Seeing the ‘bigger picture’

This takes a more positive view of narcissistic leadership - where leaders understand the importance of having a vision that people believe in. These leaders are able to see the ‘bigger picture’ by envisioning things in the future, and attempting to create them.

3. Need to be admired

Most narcissistic leaders have a strong need to be admired and are often surrounded by ‘star-struck’ followers and ‘hangers-on’. Their highly developed verbal skills and charismatic personalities mean these leaders are usually skilfull communicators - adept at delivering moving speeches.

4. Inability to listen

It is best not to approach a narcissistic leader with a difficult problem as they generally show a marked disinterest in listening to others. Of course, this may merely be a ‘defence mechanism’ to prevent them from acknowledging criticism; or simply a belief their subordinates have little to offer.

5. Lack of empathy

While most narcissistic leaders crave empathy and understanding from others - narcissists themselves are not very empathetic. However, this lack of empathy can actually work in their favour in times of chaos or radical change, as they do not allow their feelings and emotions to get in the way.US business writer and leadership expert Richard Koch believes smart employees should do their best to avoid narcissists.

Indeed, he goes so far as to say that they should always be on the look out for the warning signals.

This is because, sooner or later, the narcissistic leader will self-destruct - taking everyone else along with them as collateral damage.

Koch also has a word of warning for any successful CEO.

It is to watch out for the temptation to become over-confident or narcissistic.

Indeed, Koch believes no matter how well a CEO is doing, it may be better to quit while you are ahead - rather than believe you can go on winning forever.