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Narcissistic Leadership Project
Samuel Gibson
Liberty University
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Abstract
Throughout the years we have seen different individuals be in leadership positions all
around the world from CEO’s to the President of the United States. When we look at these
individuals we all ask the same question of what leadership skills do they offer to us? Yes, there
are a lot of individuals who are in leadership positions but in reality do not have them quality
leadership skills that they need to be successful. This paper will present the different kinds of
leaders especially the narcissistic leader. Some say that narcissistic leaders and narcissistic
leadership, albeit annoying to subordinates, gets the work of the organization done. Others say
that the damage done by narcissistic leaders and leadership creates an unethical environment that
is virtually irreparable. This paper will break down this kind of leadership and covenant
leadership in the process.
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Throughout the years we have seen different individuals be in leadership positions all
around the world from CEO’s to the President of the United States. When we look at these
individuals we all ask the same question of what leadership skills do they offer to us? Yes, there
are a lot of individuals who are in leadership positions but in reality do not have them quality
leadership skills that they need to be successful. This paper will present the different kinds of
leaders especially the narcissistic leader. Some say that narcissistic leaders and narcissistic
leadership, albeit annoying to subordinates, gets the work of the organization done. Others say
that the damage done by narcissistic leaders and leadership creates an unethical environment that
is virtually irreparable. This paper will break down this kind of leadership and covenant
leadership in the process.
Narcissist is a person who believes the world evolves around them to such an extent their
own desires blind them to relational reality which makes them insensitive to the needs and
perspectives of others. One of the sad realities in our consumer driven, hedonistic culture is that
we are producing millions of narcissistic people including leaders of large organizations.
Because of our sinful nature as human’s beings, all of us have some narcissistic tendencies to
deal with (Mattera, 2014).
We all as human beings have been in a position that was a narcissist. This is because a lot
of individuals think they might be better than someone because of what we might have, or a lot
of individuals that are in leadership positions do not care for their employees because of the
position that are in. We see this all over as some individuals will not even speak to you because
of their position. This is because they feel like no one has power like they do. There are traits
that identify leadership narcissism:
•When leaders think others are there to serve them instead of vice versa: In
an organization or church led by a leader of this type the ladder for success is
based more on catering to the narcissism of the leader on merit or work output.
•When leaders want the perks of the ministry without the pain of the
ministry: There are leaders I know who wants titles, prestige, honor, and the
respect that comes with a leadership position by they don’t want to pay the price
for it. Most successful senior leaders and CEO’s already understand this, so this
problem is more prevalent with secondary leaders working closely with senior
leaders who desire recognition as a top leader but don’t do the hard work
necessary for excellent results.
•When leaders put their own needs before the needs of the organization they
lead: True spiritual leaders give their lives for the sheep in the same way the
Lord Jesus did. Narcissistic leaders will fleece the sheep and financially
jeopardize their organizations for the sake of their own self-indulgent lifestyles.
•Leaders who are self-indulgent when it comes to the material things of this
world: Some leaders have an excessive desire to continually shop for the things
that interest them (clothes, cars, computers, etc.) in order to keep them happy and
motivated to serve. Along with this may be an excessive desire for entertainment,
pleasure, or play.
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•Leaders who look for close relationships with those who pander to them
and avoid those that confront them: Some leaders will only have people in
their inner-circles who pander to their need to feel superior. They do not want
people around them who disagree with them or speak into their lives. These
leaders continually fall for flattery that opens a huge door for satanic deception.
•When leaders view people as objects to use for their own advantage :
Regarding people as fellow image bearers of God some leaders view the
importance of people based on if they can serve their agenda. As soon as they
believe a person is no longer contributing to their agenda they begin to ignore
them and look for the next person they can use. To this end they court and
even flatter people they have their eyes on, treating them like the most
important people in the world abruptly comes to a halt when their services are
on longer needed.
•Leaders who are uninterested in other people’s problems: Some leaders have
no attention span for others while they are speaking about their own issues or
problems. They are engage conversations as long as it is about them or
something they are interested in, will shut down emotionally as soon as the
conversation shifts to something outside their interests.
•Leaders who rarely give in to other people ideas: Some leaders are not good
listeners, refuse to bend, and even act emotionally immature when they don’t get
their way or when an idea of theirs is not acted on or agreed with. Leaders like
this have decided they want something, it is almost impossible to change their
minds unless they hear another ideas that benefits them even more.
•Leaders who cannot have intimate emotional connections with close
associates or their spouses: Because of the lack of interest of others, where
some leaders will have friendship based on fun, entertainment, and gossip.
•Narcissistic leaders are more vulnerable to sexual sins: Narcissistic people are
easily bored and have prone to look or pornography and commit adultery because
of their main desire from sex is not emotional intimacy but physical pleasure. As
soon as excitement wears off in their relationship they look for others who can
sexually arouse them (Mattera, 2014).
As I look at the Narcissistic Leader he is an individual that wants the power but does
not wants the responsible that comes with that power. These individuals wants the finer
things in life and will do anything to get to that point in their life. We see this around the
United States as politicians and others are taking money that they should be using for
their work and taking it and spending it on themselves. These individuals do not care
about no one but themselves and are very deceiving.
This reminds me of the story in 2 Timothy 3:1-7. When Paul has a concern of the
leaders of the church because of their behavior. He warns Timothy and tells him to watch
out for individuals of that “self-love attitude”. Paul names the many attributes in the
narcissistic personality that we see every day. In this story Paul did try to warn Timothy
about this situation because he saw many people starting to make themselves a God.
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Now don’t get me wrong, A Narcissistic is not a bad individual but have bad traits to
make them seem like one. Leaders such as Jack Welch and George Soros are examples of
productive narcissists. They are gifted and creative strategists who see the big picture and
finding meaning in the risky challenge of changing the work and leaving behind a legacy.
Indeed, one reason we look at productive narcissists in times of great transition is that
they have the audacity to push through the massive transformations that society
periodically undertakes.
Productive narcissists are not only risk takers willing to get the job done but also
charmers who can convert the masses with their rhetoric. The danger is that narcissism
can turn unproductive when, lacking self – knowledge and restraining anchors, narcissists
become unrealistic dreamers. They nurture grand scheme and harbor the illusion that
only circumstances or enemies block their success. This tendency towards grandiosity
and trust is Achilles heel of narcissist. Because of it, even brilliant narcissists can come
under suspicion for self-involvement, unpredictability, and in extreme cases – paranioa.
It is easy to understand why narcissistic leadership doesn’t always mean successful
leadership. The case of Volvo’s Pehr Gyllenhammar. He had a dream that appealed to a
broad international audience a plan to revolutionize the industrial workplace by replacing
the dehumanizing assembly line caricatured in Charlie Chaplin Modern times. His
popular vision called for team-based craftsmanship. Model factories were built and
publicized to international acclaim. But is success in pushing through these dramatic
changes also sowed the seeds for his downfall.
He began to feel that he would ignore the concerns of his operational managers. He
pursued business deals, where he published on television and in the press. On one level,
you can ascribe Gyllenhammar’s falling out of touch with his workplace to faulty
strategy. There are some weakness that the Narcissistic leader has to be deal with as they
are not comfortable with their own emotions. They try to listen to only for the kind of
information that they seek. As they do not learn easily they do not teach but indoctrinate
and make speeches. They like to be in control and their main problem is that faults that
tend to become more pronounced as they become more successful. Some the weakness of
the Narcissistic Leader are…..
•Sensitive to Criticism
•Poor Listeners
•Lack of Empathy
•Distaste for Mentoring
•An Intense Desire to Compete
•Avoiding the Traps (Maccoby, 2004).
When we look at the Narcissistic Leader we understand that this individual is a person
that likes to have control and love that power that comes with the title. Let I said earlier in my
presentation like any other person the Narcissistic Leader has its problems but do their have their
positives too. We can see that with power the leader does make sure the work gets done when
needed. As we turn to another leader, the Covenant Leader let’s understand that these individuals
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are two different people with different aspects. A true leadership is actually a covenant and not a
contract. The failure of our society to differentiate the two concepts contributes heavily to our
leadership crisis. In fat many ways we have lost the language of covenant in our society. A
covenant is different than a contract; it is far more demanding and also far more flexible and
powerful than a contract.
Approaching leadership as a covenant can be demanding and at times trying because
making covenants functional requires establishing a foundation of trust. Trust is not something
that comes automatically and establishing it requires effort, particularly in an environment of
declining trust. In Gallop polls have demonstrated that they percentage of Americans who
believe most people can be trusted has declined from 55 percent in 1966 to about 30 percent
today.
In this type of leadership there has to be trust to make it work, without it the covenant
leadership cannot be established. Other than with the Narcissistic Leadership there was an
individual who wanted power and control with Covenant Leadership there is a leadership that is
there forever. The essence of a covenant is recognizing that a time self-interest is better serve by
giving up some individual rights, comforts or interest in favor of the common good. It is an
acknowledgement that were linked to each other by common purposes that are sometimes more
important than out own individual purposes. This does not mean that covenants require people to
give up the pursuit of their own self-interest.
The difference between the Narcissistic Leader and the Covenant Leader is that one is
about Truth and another is about Power. Understanding the principles of covenant is a lot easier
than living by them. Simply stated, old habits die hard. For control oriented power wielders to
become covenant keeping leaders requires a change of assumptions and behaviors.
Organizational covenants begin with leaders assuming people are responsible, capable and
willing to contribute, and then acting on those assumptions by trusting and empowering them.
It follows that the individuals who approach leadership in this manner are likely to be
more willing to share information, create a culture of mutual accountability and support the
people they lead. These actions are undergirded by a fundamental belief that, given the
opportunity, the followers will also willing to contribute their talents, assume ownership for the
organizations and share accountability for success or failure. Living or operating in a covenant in
a choice that people make, and sometimes those choices affect change.
The covenant approach to leadership involves choices that may change the way
organizations and the people in them relate to one another. The choices that begin with relying
on the goodwill and honesty of people. Living in fear of someone taking advantage of you is
greater tyranny than getting burned a few times by trusting others. Understand that point alone is
a major step in turning control oriented mangers into covenant keeping leaders (Moisan, 2004).
As we know there are a lot of Narcissistic Leaders around the world but also there a lot of
Covenant Leaders also. These individuals are very compassionate and care about individuals.
They understand the individual and want to see everyone around them advance. They are about
individuals safety and but their life on the line to make such others are taken care of.
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As I bring my presentation to a close I wanted to state that I provided the major facts
about a Narcissistic Leader and a Covenant Leader. As I look at these leadership positions and
the project that I have to present, I believe that would have to change the mindset of the
department first. We have to understand that when someone is in a leadership position their
power follows the department and will have a impact on the department whether if that’s a
positive thing or negative thing. I want everyone in the department know that I want to see them
succeed and will make sure they accomplish that by putting a plan together to present to them to
show them that I care and want to see them stay at the department.
In a situation like this you want the individuals in your department to understand that you
are there for them and that you care for them. I do not want them to think it’s all about me and
do not want them to think that I care about the power. The only thing I care about is to make sure
that this department running smoothly and that my people are taken care of. I will change the
ethic code of conduct and in put in place a classes in how we change the culture of the
department and how we can better the department as a whole. Our mission is not only take care
of the community but also make sure our own are taken care also.
I know we will have some pitfalls in trying to make this happen but with the resources
and position that I will put the department in my putting in a positive covenant leadership board
we can make this happen. Just as God love the church we should love every individual because
forgiveness is key. No matter what an individual might have did to someone you still have to
forgive them. As we go through life lets never forgot that God place us here for a reason and a
purpose and that greater is coming!
Deuteronomy 17:16-20 “Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the
people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You
shall never return that way again.’ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart
turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. “And when he sits on the
throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the
Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he
may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and
doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside
from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his
kingdom, he and his children, in Israel”.
References
Maccoby, M. (2004, January 1). Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons.
Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2004/01/narcissistic-leaders-the-incredible-pros-the-inevitable-
cons
Mattera, J. (2014, January 1). 10 Traits of Narcissistic Leaders. Retrieved from
http://ministrytodaymag.com/index.php/ministry-leadership/ethics/20332-10-traits-of-
narcissistic-leaders
Moisan, L. (2001). Leadership Is a Covenant. Journal of Business Disciplines, 2, 1-23.
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The Holy Bible
