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GM BUSINESS connect
April/May 2018
leadership “Mirror, mirror on the wall, e h t s i o h w fairest of us all? Case-study: A CEO, in his mid-40s, very successful, creative with innovative ideas in terms of product design. When you meet him, there is no way you cannot be charmed by his enthusiasm and excitement. It’s almost contagious. You very soon, almost feel compelled to work for his organisation and once you join, the initial enthusiasm and excitement wear off very fast. Like a balloon that deflates... His initial promises to you will never be fulfilled. You very soon realise that this person’s main interest lays in power and prestige, and not in the company’s performance. He wants the ‘best’ Board of Directors and Management Team of the market. So, he goes out and hires them... and pays them accordingly. Soon, everybody realises what all this is about. Most of the BoD and MT members change every 2 years. That’s how long they last. He has a gambler’s approach to everything. He is not interested in
Narcissism and Leadership
long-term goals, but instead he is interested in anything that will get him power and exposure fast. His main drive is to preserve his own position. He comes across as arrogant and he does not tolerate criticism or feedback. There are three main types of employees in his organisation: 1 Those who are truly loyal to him – for whatever reason. 2 Those who have no other choice and stay because they simply can’t find something better, and 3 Those who leave the minute an opportunity appears. He is the type of person that will take advantage of any kind of ‘loyalty’ and will not pay any attention to his people’s emotional needs. The worst part, is that he is not conscious at all of all the above. He always will find a very good ‘excuse’ and will convince himself about how he is right and everybody else is wrong. Research shows that five of the behaviours most annoying to the working professionals surveyed are behaviours directly related to narcissism:
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• Arrogance and haughtiness.
• An intense desire to compete.
• Taking advantage of others to achieve own ends.
• Excessive desire for power, wealth and admiration.
• Sense of entitlement.
• Hypersensitivity and anger.
• Grandiose sense of self-importance.
• Poor listening skills. • Lack of empathy.
• Lack of empathy. There are several types of Narcissistic Leaders namely:
• Amorality. • Irrationality and inflexibility.
• R eactive: does not listen to advisors and subordinates.
• Inability to follow a consistent path.
• S elf-deceptive: will try to make a show of appearing interested in or sympathetic to the opinions of subordinates.
• Distance for mentoring.
• C onstructive: will listen more carefully to group members, partly because they know intuitively that listening to others often results in being liked. In summary their Dysfunctional Aspects include: • Arrogance. • Feelings of inferiority. • Insatiable need for recognition and superiority.
• Paranoid thinking. As in any case, there are also positive aspects of Narcissistic Leaders: • During a crisis: followers might need a narcissistic leader who will inspire them and believe he/she is adequately equipped to get through the crisis. • They may have the ability to form Great Visions. • Charisma: not everybody will respond to a person’s charisma but many will.
Dr Maria Katsarou
CPsychol Chartered Psychologist by the British Psychological Society
Managing Director, Leadership Psychology Institute Maria@leadershipsy.com Maria has 20 years of experience in partnering with senior teams across many business sectors. She holds a BA in Management and Organisational Behaviour, MA in Human Resources Management, an MSc in Psychology and a Doctorate in Leadership Psychology. She holds the Henley Certificate in Coaching, is an accredited Coach by the International Coaching Federation as well as accredited in various psychometrics by the British Psychological Society.
Contact us today for a free no-obligation consultation: maria@leadershipsy.com
01928 725 610 07484 789941
Rational House, 64 Bridge Street, Manchester M3 3BN
www.LeadershipPsychologyInstitute.com
