Narcissists Tend to Become Leaders

LiveScience Staff, LiveScience.com 

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.

·           10 Things You Didn't Know About You 

·           Facebook Profiles Out Narcissists 

·           Top 10 Mysteries of the Mind 

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