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Narcissistic Leadership Assignment
Liberty University
CJUS 610
Blake Lafond
September 20th, 2025
Abstract
To achieve organizational goals every organization has leaders to provide clear directions and
guidance. The success of every organization is based on the leadership roles and the leaders'
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influence on the employees. Different leaders have different qualities and have different ways
to provide leadership guidance. We all see people in our lives and organizations who hold the
positions of leaders but in reality they do not possess leadership qualities. Many people care
about book smarts and they can pass the tests. They can be number one in their oral board
interviews but they do not possess leadership qualities. . Every leader has qualities which are
based on their goals, motivations and the way they want to lead the teams in an organization.
The leadership always provides the directions, policies and procedures to the organizational
structure to operate on their directions. In this research paper I will discuss two types of
leadership: Narcissist and covenant, their traits and impact on an organization and the
employees. I will develop a plan as a leader to transition the previous narcissist leadership traits
to covenant leadership traits and help my law enforcement organization to get back on track for
successful operations.
Narcissist Leadership
Narcissism is a personality trait and narcissist leadership is a perspective of narcissism. A person
with narcissistic traits thinks he is the most important person and the whole world revolves
around them and this curtain stops them from thinking about the importance and the needs of
other people around them. They cannot think rationally and people with this narcissistic
personality disorder become self-centered and very arrogant in their thinking and behavior, a
lack of empathy and consideration for other people, and an excessive need for admiration.
“People with narcissistic personality disorder are extremely resistant to changing their behavior,
even when it’s causing them problems. Their tendency is to turn the blame on to others” (Smith
& Robinson, 2018). A lot of people think they are better than others and the position they hold
they deserve it and they are superior that's why they are the leaders. This over reaction to
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power and the position makes them uncontrolled and arrogant. They have this sense of self-
imposed superiority and they like to dominate others and look down at them. Narcissist leaders
were there even during the biblical times and they are not new to the leadership world. The
Bible frequently warns against pride, selfishness, and placing oneself above others, which are
central to narcissism. Passages like 2 Timothy 3:1-7 warn against people who are "lovers of
their own selves," a characteristic directly linked to narcissism. “For men shall be lovers of their
own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy” (2 Timothy 3, nod).
Following are the key traits of Narcissist leaders:
● Hostility when challenged
● Self-absolution
● Self-centered
● Disregards for others and their opinions
● Aggressive
● Less tolerance towards negative feedback
● Abusive towards juniors
● Don’t take the blame for anything
● They think they are always right
● Like to take the credit for everything
Organizational Impact:
Due to their self-centered personality narcissists do not develop interpersonal skills and they
don’t forge relationship development in the organization structure. Their inner circle only has
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the people who praise them and make them feel important and happy. They do not welcome
criticism and don’t want to keep people who provide feedback around them. They only want
people who can serve their agenda and if they find someone in their circle is not playing the
role they want they start to look for a replacement. “But the gravest danger posed by such
leaders is that their malignant influence guides the behavior and expectations of others — and
ultimately shapes the culture of the organization or polity in their own image. Studies of
businesses show that self-serving, unethical behavior at the top cascades through the
organization and becomes legitimized, or at least normalized” (Simmons, 2020). Narcissists
always want everyone to talk about them and never seem interested in learning about other
people’s lives and their problems. As soon as the conversation is about others they emotionally
shut down and show no interest in carrying on the conversion. Narcissist leaders are not good
listeners; they do not like or appreciate when their idea is not approved or others don’t agree
with them.
Narcissism increases with the time when these narcissists gain more power and the fame they
become more arrogant and lethal. An example of Narcissism is Adolf Hitler, initially he was a
charismatic leader who grew increasingly narcissistic to the point of becoming one of the vilest
leaders in the history of mankind.
In my opinion narcissist leaders want the power but not the responsibility which comes with the
power. I am not saying that narcissists are bad people but they have these traits which make
them seem like a person who is not liked by many. There are productive narcissists who can
convert a large number of people to their rhetoric. “There are many prominent examples of
successful and visionary leaders who were labeled as ‘narcissists’ by the popular business
press–think of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, or Larry Ellison. While these leaders have been praised for
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their passion, vision, and innovation capacities (Sharma and Grant, 2011; Shah and Mulla,
2013), they have also been criticized for poor treatment of employees, lack of empathy, and
arrogance (Maccoby, 2000; Gladwell, 2002) (Schmid et al., 2021). When we look into narcissist
leaders, yes we do see the personality trait where they want the power, they love and enjoy this
title that does not mean they are not being productive or useful. Narcissist leaders make sure
that work gets done when it's needed and they make sure they get the task done by their
teams. Narcissist leaders are the master of communication and verbal skills and they enjoy their
power. They know how to win the hearts and gain more popularity. “Narcissistic leaders are
masters of excellent communication and verbal skills. These leaders understand the importance
of winning the hearts of the people which further propels their popularity and admiration.
These leaders demonstrate an inability to take criticism owing to their vulnerability to dissenting
opinions. Narcissists, therefore, choose to not listen to criticism and only listen to affirmative
opinions regarding them. The inability to listen to critics serves as a defense mechanism”
(Owens, 2015) Covenant Leaders:
Covenant leadership is a true leadership trait not a contact. A covenant leader is far more
powerful and effective than a contact. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast
love endures forever.” (Psalm 136) “Do not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; bind them
around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. You will find favor and good repute in
the sight of God and of people.” (Proverbs 3:3-4) “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has
lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown
out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives
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light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see
your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-14)(Gibbons, n.d.).
World view:
1 Timothy 4:8 for physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things,
holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of
the life that now is and of that which is to come.” Their basic position seems to be that, since
exercise “profited little'' they are justified to live out a couch potato’s life. Leadership is difficult.
Being a Christian leader even more so. The Apostle Paul knows this. After all, he suffered for
Christ – not only as a follower of Jesus, but as someone who led missions to spread the Kingdom
of God to new frontiers. He knows that leadership would be difficult for Timothy, too. Not just
because Timothy is young, but because leadership is difficult no matter what age you are.
Maybe it’s important to note that Paul is not instructing Timothy to go around telling
nonbelievers how wrong they are, but that this is about handling false teachings within the
body of Christ. Instead, he says to ‘teach the believers’ (4:6) and nurture them in the faith so
that they will be able to discern the truth.
Trust is the most important factor in covenant leadership traits and it's not easy to build and
sustain trust. Covenant leaders are the role models for honesty, integrity, trust, faith,
collaboration and commitment. Following are some of the traits of a covenant leader:
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●Shared purpose
●Honesty
●Collaboration
●Commitment
●Morality
●Service an integrity
Fourthly, covenant leadership offers an alternative to the narcissistic style of leadership.
Covenant leadership pertains to relinquishing power so as to accommodate others and
developing an amicable relationship with others (Fischer & Schultz, 2017).
Covenant leadership is founded and established on trust and accountability. Covenant leaders
work for a common purpose instead of an individual purpose they work for a common good.
Covenant leadership works towards truth and they believe in people and their capabilities. They
are open to discuss and dialogue and take negative feedback for their improvement.
Now since I have discussed both Narcissist and covenant leadership traits I will create a project
for my agency’s leadership. Every agency has the leaders and their leadership traits follow the
whole department and its members. These leaders influence every department policy and the
procedures for the officers to follow and bring a positive impact on the agency.
Police officers have a hard job to do and especially now when everyone has a cell phone in hand
ready to record everything. Millions of officers across the nation put their lives on the line to
protect their community members from offenders. While simply doing their jobs police officers
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are a target to different kinds of victimization. Police officers have to constantly worry about
protecting citizens, making sure offenders rights don't get violated and they have to worry about
their and their family's safety. The trait perspective to police officers have evolved over the time.
“In the Old Testament, the covenant idea was introduced by God to man. As mentioned earlier,
by entering into a covenant with mere mortals, God affirmed their dignity and gave them both
the freedom to choose to enter into the covenant and the responsibility to act within the moral
terms of the covenant. It is no surprise, then, that even in Old Testament Israel, during the time
of the judges and kings, that no one ruler had all the power nor was free from the accountability
of the people and the prophets” (Fischer, n.d.).
For these officers a covenant leadership works the best to motivate them to do the job and
respect what they do for the community.
As a chief of police for my agency I will think about how to achieve the goal and the mission of
my agency by making my employees an important part of it. I will focus on teaching my agency’s
values to all the employees. I along with my top leadership will formulate a plan for the officers
which works the best for them and their wellbeing. I will make sure every employee in the
agency is commissioned and civilians must feel heard and important. I will make them feel that
they are the key for the agency’s success and it will be all about them now me. Rather focusing
on myself and my power and staying in that bubble I will open the doors of interaction for
everyone in the agency. I will take care of my people before anyone else so they can focus on
serving the community. My officer’s wellbeing will be my priority and I will make sure they feel
it. I will make sure they trust me and my policies and I will make sure my policies are to protect
them and make them feel confident.
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Department Policy Outline
A. Police officers are to maintain high standards on and off duty. Moral aptitude, integrity
and competence are very critical for the law enforcement community. To maintain the public
trust we must impose strict constraints on our actions and behaviors. Officers must keep
themselves accountable to these standards on and off duty. An officer’s action must not put the
department into disgrace and officers' behaviors should never limit the department’s efficiency
to serve the community and protect the lives and property.
B. Agency leadership will make a fundamental shift toward ethical, service-based
principles.
C. Emphasize honesty, shared purpose, collaboration, and commitment to the well-being
and growth of subordinates. They operate under a moral framework, often a Christian one that
values service and integrity.
II. The Goal
A. The goal is to develop the department policy regarding fostering resilience, high
employee engagement, trust, and teamwork. This leads to a more sustainable, ethical,
and high-performing organization.
B. The employee wellness bureau will connect with the officers and develop a plan to take
care of employee’s physical and mental health and wellbeing. All employees shall keep
department official business confidential.
B. Department will make honestly their policy and will make sure all the employees
commissioned and civilian make honestly their way of professional life
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C. The department will make community policing a pillar and an important component of
the department and will create collaboration, coordination, and integration with all the
communities.
D. Employees will create a public private sector partnership to bring all the stakeholders
together including houses of worship, schools and critical infrastructures.
Conclusion:
In this paper my purpose was to define my reason and purpose to be in this world and to be in
the profession of law enforcement. I explained my background and what I experienced and how
I want to help the world to be empowered in preventing mass violence and terrorism. We all
have to learn from our personal experiences, collaborate and create teams and help others.
What I went through and experienced in my personal life I got lucky enough to have the
opportunity to learn, move forward and help others in learning. Covenant leaders believe in
empowerment and sharing the power with others and creating leaders. We learnt that narcissist
leaders can achieve tremendous success if their level of influence and power is properly
monitored and controlled by the chain of command. Covenant leadership, and its impact if
always the better but its achievement and the positive impact depends on relationships building
through motivation, honesty, accountability and respect. The main and ultimate goal is to have a
department run with honesty and integrity irrespective of the leadership style.
References:
Smith, M., & Robinson, L. (2018, November 3). Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Symptoms,
Causes, Help. HelpGuide.org.
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https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health/personality-disorders/narcissistic-personality-
disorder
2 Timothy 3. (n.d.). Www.churchofjesuschrist.org.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/2-tim/3?lang=eng
Simmons, L. (2020, April 30). How Narcissistic Leaders Destroy from Within. Stanford Graduate
School of Business. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/how-narcissistic-leaders-
destroy within
Schmid, E. A., Knipfer, K., & Peus, C. V. (2021). Narcissistic Leaders–Promise or Peril? The
Patterns of Narcissistic Leaders’ Behaviors and Their Relation to Team Performance. Frontiers in
Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.660452
Gibbons, S. (n.d.). The Covenant Leader: Leading faithfully.
https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/innerresources/vol2iss3/
gibbons_devotional7.pdf
(n.d.). Owens, B. P., Wallace, A. S., & Waldman, D. A. (2015). Leader Narcissism and Follower
Outcomes: The Counterbalancing Effect of Leader Humility. Journal of Applied Psychology,
100(4), 1203.
Fischer, K. (n.d.). Scholars Crossing Scholars Crossing Pedagogical Resources Helms School of
Government A Biblical/Covenantal Perspective A Biblical/Covenantal Perspective.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=gov_fac_ped
(n.d.). Fischer, K. J., & Schultz, J. (2017). Covenant and Empowerment: Integrative Themes for
Organizational Leadership and Behavior. Organization Development Journal, 35(3), 43-67.
