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Narcissists Tend to Become Leaders

2008-10-08 05:49:57

Tue Oct 7, 4:56 PM ET

Narcissists like to be in charge, so it stands to reason that a new study shows

individuals who are overconfident about their abilities are most likely to step

in as leaders, be they politicians or power brokers.

However, their initiative doesn't mean they are the best leaders. The study

also found narcissists don't outperform others in leadership roles.

Narcissists tend to be egotistical types who exaggerate their talents and

abilities, and lack empathy for others. The researchers stress that narcissism

is not the same as high self-esteem.

"A person with high self-esteem is confident and charming, but they also have a

caring component and they want to develop intimacy with others," said lead

researcher Amy Brunell, a psychologist at Ohio State University at Newark.

"Narcissists have an inflated view of their talents and abilities and are all

about themselves. They don't care as much about others."

She added, "It's not surprising that narcissists become leaders. They like

power, they are egotistical, and they are usually charming and extraverted. But

the problem is, they don't necessarily make better leaders."

Born leaders?

The results, which will be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, come from three studies, two with

students and the other with business managers.

In one study, 432 undergraduate students completed surveys that measured

various personality traits, including aspects of narcissism. Then, the students

were put in groups of four and told to assume they were a committee of senior

officers of the student union. Their task was to elect next year's director.

Results showed that students who scored higher on one dimension of narcissism -

the desire for power - were more likely to say they wanted to lead the group.

The narcissists were also more likely to say they did lead the group discussion

and more likely to be viewed as leaders by the other group members.

Another dimension of narcissism - the desire for attention - was not as

strongly linked with leadership roles in the groups.

Shipwrecked island experiment

In a similar study, more than 400 students, placed into groups of four, were

told to imagine they were shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. They had to

choose 15 items from the ship that would best help them survive on the island.

Individuals who scored highest on the power dimension of narcissism again

showed the most desire to lead the group discussion, rated themselves as

leaders, and were viewed by other group members as the leaders.

To rate leadership abilities, the researchers compared the 15-item lists with

one prepared by an expert who has taught survival skills to the U.S. military.

Turned out, narcissists did no better than their less self-centered

counterparts at choosing survival items.

A third study involved more than 150 business managers enrolled in an executive

MBA program at a large southeastern university. The managers were grouped in

fours and told to assume the role of a school board deciding how to allocate a

large financial contribution from a fictional company.

Two trained observers monitored the group discussions, finding that the MBA

students who rated highest in narcissism were most likely to emerge as group

leaders. The results held even when other personality traits, such as

self-esteem and extraversion, were taken into account.

Narcissists in society

Brunell said she believes the results apply to many parts of life, from the

politics of presidential races to Wall Street.

"Many people have observed that it takes a narcissistic person to run for

president of the United States," Brunell said. "I would be surprised if any of

the candidates who have run weren't higher than average in narcissism."

Wall Street traders could also have a high dose of narcissism, she suggested.

"There have been a lot of studies that have found narcissistic leaders tend to

have volatile and risky decision-making performance and can be ineffective and

potentially destructive leaders."

Brunell does hedge though, saying that not all troubles in Washington and Wall

Street can be blamed on narcissists, and of course, you can't boil everything

down to personalities.

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Mysteries of the Mind Original Story: Narcissists Tend to Become Leaders

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