"Narcissistic Leaders"

Michael Macoby, HBR January 2004, "Inside the mind of the leader" Special Issue.

The business world is experiencing enormous changes that call for visionary charismatic leadership.



[...] I believe that the larger-than-life leaders we are seeing today closely resemble the personality type that S. Freud dubbed narcissistic - he identified three main types of personalities, erotic, obsessive, and narcissistic. People of this type impress others as being personalities. They are specially 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 damage the stablished state of affairs.





Narcissistic leaders are often skillfull orator, and this is one of the talents that make them so charismatic, e.g. Churchill, JFK, Ross Perot, Bill Clinton.



Leaders like Jack Welch and George Soros are good examples of productive narcissistics.



Some people see things, and they say Why? narcissistics dream things that never were and say Why not? (G.B. Shaw)



- Weaknesses



Sensitive to criticism: narcissistics are almost unimaginably thin-skined.

Poor listeners: one serious consequence of this oversensitivity to criticism is that narcissistic leaders often do not listen when they feel threatened or attacked.

Lack of empathy: in fact, in times of radical changes, lack of empathy can actually be a strengh.

Distaste for mentoring: lack of empathy and extreme independence make it difficult for narcissistic leaders to mentor and to be mentored.

An intense desire to compete: their passion to win is marked by both the promise os glory and the primitive danger os extinction.



- How to avoid traps



Find a trusted sidekick: Don Quixote and his squire, Sancho Panza. The best sidekick are usually productive obsessives. E.g. B. Gates + S. Ballmer (M$) Larry Ellison + Ray Lane (Oracle)

Indoctrinate the organization: J. Welch and the GE cultural transformation.

Get into analysis: narcissistics are often more interested in controlling others than in knowing and disciplining themselves.



Historically, narcissistics in large corporations have been confined to sales positions, where they use their persuasiveness and imagination to best effect.



The large corporations are finding that there is no substitute for narcissistic leaders in an age of innovation.