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Narcissistic leaders both fascinate and repel us. They can be charming, act assertively, and articulate visions that may inspire confidence, especially in times of uncertainty. This can attract many followers. In 1931 Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, echoed this belief: “[Narcissists] impress others as being ‘personalities’; they are especially suited to act as a support for others, to take on the role of leaders and to give a fresh stimulus to cultural development or to damage the established state of affairs.”
But narcissists famously have a dark side as well that includes unethical, autocratic, and aggressive behavior. They often stifle collaboration and dismiss expert advice. Given those trade-offs, why do narcissists often end up in positions of leadership, and who is drawn to them? My colleague Barbara Nevicka, an organizational psychologist at the University of Amsterdam, and I set up the Childhood Leadership Study to investigate this question in childhood, when narcissistic leadership first emerges. We conducted fine-grained assessments of leadership behavior in 332 children aged seven to 14—and found patterns both in the preference for these leaders and in the relationships that leaders and followers form.
Narcissism is a personality trait characterized by feelings of grandiosity, a sense of entitlement, and a craving for respect and admiration. It’s part of what psychologists call the “dark triad” of personality traits—along with psychopathy and Machiavellianism, or cold, strategic manipulation for personal gain. In adulthood, narcissism may develop into a narcissistic personality disorder. About 6 percent of people in the U.S. meet the criteria for this disorder at some point in their lives, though they may not receive a formal diagnosis. Our research focuses on children with above-average narcissism levels because narcissistic personality disorder is usually not formally diagnosed before adulthood.
The personality trait of narcissism develops in childhood and can be measured from middle childhood, around age seven. Although some degree of narcissism is typical in children this age, markedly higher levels compared with peers may signal a narcissistic personality. Middle childhood is also when leadership tendencies take shape and become increasingly evident. From age nine, children spend about 75 percent of their free time at school in groups of three or more peers, allowing them to form leader-follower relationships. Leadership on the playground, then, provides a blueprint for leadership in politics and beyond.
Our study shows that narcissistic children often emerge as leaders in their classrooms. When we asked children to nominate classmates who they perceived to be leaders, kids in 96 percent of the classrooms tended to pick children with more narcissistic tendencies. It seems that narcissistic children embody the qualities their peers associate with leadership.
But are narcissistic children better leaders? We assigned children to three-person groups and randomly designated one child as the leader to find out. The groups did a collaborative task, with the leader responsible for the decision-making process. Unsurprisingly, more narcissistic children perceived themselves as better leaders. Yet compared with their less narcissistic peers, they did not lead their group to perform better, exhibit stronger leadership (such as by delegating tasks), or receive higher ratings from their group members.
This finding ties in with research among adults. A meta-analysis by Emily Grijalva, an organizational psychologist at the University at Buffalo, shows that narcissistic adults tend to emerge as leaders but don’t excel in those roles.
We suspected that narcissistic traits in leaders are more attractive to some people than others. So we zoomed in on children with low self-esteem—those who feel unsatisfied with themselves and are often shy and withdrawn. We found that when followers with low self-esteem had a narcissistic leader, they perceived the leader as more effective and were more likely to endorse them for future leadership roles than did their peers with higher self-esteem. What’s more, they felt more included in the group, perceived greater group cohesion, felt better about themselves, and were more inclusive toward others when they had a narcissistic leader.
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