Narcissistic Leadership

One of the most common abnormalities among managers is an inflated sense of self-worth and importance that arises from the esteem given to those who have authority over others.  A manager directs the activities of others, and may come to believe that he is superior to them in skills and potential – when such is not the case at all.  A hospital manager who has administrative control over a team of surgeons is not himself a surgeon, and does not have the knowledge or skills to direct their work – but over time he may come to think so. 

This is especially true of managers who experience feelings of inferiority – it is stressful for them to have control over people whose work they do not understand.  So as a defense mechanism, they fantasize that they understand it, and that they are in a leadership position because of their technical competence.  When they act on this fantasy, they do harm.   Their delusion of grandeur is a compensation for their feeling of self-doubt and insufficiency.

The negative impact of this is clear: when a manager who is charged with coordinating knowledge workers does not have superior skills or knowledge, and if he does not control his ego he will invariably begin micromanaging their work, abusing the authority of his position to demand that they do things they know to be wrong and harmful.

Aside of the functional damage that can be done by a narcissistic manager, they are damaging to the morale of their employees.   To be ordered to do something wrong or harmful, to be ignored, and to be unappreciated all degrade the morale of an expert worker.  Their initial impulse is rebellion, but when their rebellion is met with further sanctions, they either seek to escape.  If escape is not possible, then they cease to contribute their expertise and follow the orders they are given, even orders they know to be wrong.

Narcissistic managers tend to favor submissive employees: yes-men and lickspittles.  As such, they promote and reward those who cater to their ego and neglect those who are competent and capable.   When they drive away competent employees, they replace them with submissive ones.   And thus, the entire operation is compromised – the narcissistic manager is surrounded by incompetent but fawning employees, who provide only positive feedback.   This leads to blind-spots, misjudgments, and unsound decisions.

The feelings of inadequacy are then exacerbated by a lack of performance: outside his protective circle of submissive supporters, his incompetence is obvious, and the performance of his business unit suffers immensely.   Sometimes, negative criticism can be a wake-up call, but more often they resist it, feel the world does not appreciate the good work they are doing, and they become hostile and defensive.  In other words, they become delusional and disconnected from reality.   This spiral continues until their operation becomes dysfunctional and they are removed from their position.

In sum, narcissistic leaders are dangerous to their organizations. Their lack of empathy, their poor ability to accept criticism, their unwillingness to reflect on their own actions, their extreme readiness for conflict, their vengefulness, and their own isolation from real, actual people lends them the potential for catastrophic decisions and inhumane leadership behavior.