Earlier in the year, I wrote about new research from Stanford that explored how narcissistic leaders can destroy their organization during COVID.  The research reminds us that narcissistic leaders can be hugely enticing.  Their confidence and ability to self-promote can make them hugely attractive, especially to organizations in the midst of turmoil. The researchers analyze over 150 previous studies on the topic and find that narcissistic leaders can be hugely risky for any organization.

“There are leaders who may be abusive jerks but aren’t really narcissists,” they explain. “The distinction is what motivates them. Are they driven to achieve some larger purpose? Do they really want to make the company or the country better, or accomplish some crazy goal like making electric cars mainstream and maybe colonizing Mars along the way? Or is it really all about their own aggrandizement?”

Research from Oregon State University suggests that a big part of the problem is that narcissists seldom learn from their mistakes, due in large part to their belief that they don’t make any to begin with.

The process of analyzing our past actions is known as “should counterfactual thinking”, and involves us imagining different outcomes to those that actually occurred.  The researchers suggest that while we all engage in some level of self-protective thinking, such as attributing our successes to our own efforts, and failures to external forces, narcissists take it to a whole new level.

“Narcissists do this way more because they think they’re better than others,” the researchers explain. “They don’t take advice from other people; they don’t trust others’ opinions. … You can flat-out ask, ‘What should you have done differently?’ And it might be, ‘Nothing, it turned out; it was good.’”

Long-term impact

Sadly, research from Berkeley Haas suggests that the impact of a narcissistic leader can be an enduring one.  The study shows that narcissistic leaders “infect” the culture of their organizations, which results in diminishing levels of things like integrity and collaboration, even after the leader has left.

The researchers conducted five experiments and a field study involving CEOs from major companies to try and understand the impact of narcissists’ bad behavior on their companies.  The results suggest a range of negative impacts, including reductions in collaboration and ethical behavior, with these characteristics becoming part of the wider organizational culture.

“Narcissistic leaders affect the core elements of organizations and their impact on society,” the researchers explain. “Companies organize because they can do something together that no individual could accomplish alone. When narcissistic leaders undermine collaboration, they by definition reduce the effectiveness of an organization. Without integrity, an organization risks its very survival.”

The behavior of the leader then spreads throughout the organization, as they set a clear example of the kind of things that are not only expected but desirable from the entire workforce.  This creates a culture that can become very hard to shift once it becomes embedded, even after the narcissistic leader has gone.

What they don’t do

Narcissistic leaders are also hugely influential by virtue of what they don’t do.  For instance, they might choose not to put in distinct policies to support and govern ethical behavior, or equal pay, as well as failing to promote collaboration, teamwork, and respect.  What’s more, they often fail to penalize employees that breach these shared norms.

It’s a finding that was shared by research from earlier this year from Stanford Graduate School of Business, which organizations led by narcissists tend to be more competitive, with lower levels of both integrity and collaboration.

“If you deal with a narcissist, it can be unpleasant. If you’re married to one, it can be damaging. But fundamentally, individuals can choose to walk away,” the researchers say. “When narcissists assume positions of power, their effects become hugely magnified.”

The analysis revealed that narcissistic leaders were much less likely to value integrity in their direct teams and the wider organization.  What’s more, they were also likely to back policies that reduce the likelihood of collaboration happening.  These were then reflected in the type of people recruited and promoted in the organization so that eventually the culture embodied their distorted values.

Going to our heads

Sadly, research from the University of Melbourne suggests that the very act of assuming positions of power can bring out the narcissist in us all.  The traditional view has largely been that narcissists tend to grab power for themselves, but the new study casts doubt on that view, suggesting instead that it is the power that creates the narcissist.

“Narcissists can feel a sense of entitlement—they expect and demand respect from others as well as special privileges,” the researchers say. “They are willing to exploit others to get what they want.”

When narcissists are given a degree of power, however, then things can turn rather ugly, rather quickly, precisely because it’s something they crave so much.

“While power doesn’t turn everyone into a destructive tyrant, it has pernicious effects when it gets into the hands of those who want it most,” the authors say. “Power increased narcissism only among those with high-baseline testosterone—people who want to achieve and retain positions of power.”

This suggests that simply not hiring narcissists in the first place might not be sufficient protection.  It also requires a greater degree of resistance from boards to rein in their worst tendencies than many boards are willing or able to give, especially as they are likely to have had a hand in the narcissist’s appointment in the first place.

Plus, of course, as the BerkeleyHaas research reminds us, undoing the damage the narcissistic leader has caused to the culture of the business can take some time, and so removing them is merely the first step in a much longer path.

“Boards can’t assume that simply by removing a leader, they will be able to change how people in the organization behave,” they conclude. “The culture leaders helped create will still be embedded in the policies and practices that reward people for prioritizing uncollaborative and unethical behaviors. Turning around this kind of culture will take explicit effort and likely a significant amount of time.”