NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIP PROJECT
Narcissistic Leadership Project
LaShonda Murphy
Liberty University
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NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIP PROJECT
Narcissistic Leadership Project
There are various types of leaders in today's world. A great leader is said to possess many
great qualities, such aa clear vision, courageousness, integrity, honesty, and humility. This paper
will discuss the leadership styles of a narcissist leader and a covenant leader. A great leader
should be able to help others reach their goals, should not be afraid of taking risks, and takes
pride in the accomplishments of others as well as the ones accomplished themselves.
A narcissistic leader does not embody any of these traits. A narcissistic leader is said to be
self-centered and has the beliefs that they are entitled and superior to other individuals. They
often show aggressive tendencies in the face of criticism and often need great validation to prove
their self-worth. Covenantal leadership is a two-way compromise that emphasizes ethical
responsibilities and the sacred nature of leadership as a covenant. A covenant leader seems too
display the exact opposite characteristics of a narcissistic leader. A covenant leader is open
minded and will emphasize mutual responsibility with the individuals they are leading.
Covenant Leadership
A Covenant leader values employees as distinctive individuals who are worthy to be
treated with dignity and respect. This leader embodies their values and inspires others by their
integrity in modeling what they believe. Their moral covenant is to honor commitments and keep
promises—including implied promises associated with organizational values (Caldwell & Hasan
2018). This type of leader creates learning organizations. They recognize that in order to improve
the environment in which they work, it requires them to show others how to succeed. Covenant
leaders understand that they must continually seek to understand the truth by being evidence-
based, striving to improve their own understanding, and encouraging others to constantly
innovate, improve, and seek for truth (Caldwell & Hasan 2018). “Covenantal leaders understand
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that they are truth dependent and that they must be honest and share truth with their employees”
(Caldwell & Hasan 2018). This type of leader recognizes that asking others to achieve results
must be balanced with providing the resources and the authority to accomplish those outcomes.
Caldwell and Hasan stated’
“Empowerment is an ethical obligation enabling others to succeed, understanding the
obstacles they need to overcome, and giving them the power to accomplish duties for
which they are responsible…. Only when leaders listen to their employees, understand
their expectations, and honor the implicit elements of employee’s expectations will those
employees be the committed, innovative, and productive partners in today’s competitive
global marketplace”.
Narcissistic Leadership
“Narcissists have many negative interpersonal characteristics, such as a lack of empathy,
exploitative, a sense of entitlement, antagonism and egocentrism, which could lead them to abuse
their power and adversely impact those they lead” (Nevicka, et al, 2018). “Abusive supervision
has been shown to have many detrimental consequences for followers, such as psychological
distress (e.g., strain, emotional exhaustion, and depression), lower family well-being, and higher
turnover intentions (Nevicka, et al 2018)”. Narcissistic individuals tend to be arrogant, self-
absorbed, feel entitled and are hostile. They exhibit a high degree of self-love, believing that they
are special and entitled to praise and admiration. However, this exterior is characterized by a
shallow self-concept as they tend to view others as inferior to themselves often being insensitive
and hostile towards others (Judge et al., 2009). They tend to interpret information with a self-
serving bias and their decisions lean towards enhancing their own reputation rather than for the
good of others. Narcissism is associated with significant interpersonal problems and narcissists
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have a negative impact on others (Ogrodniczuk, Piper, Joyce, Steinberg, & Duggal, 2009). The
research suggests that highly narcissistic individuals seek out social status via dominant
behavior, are highly attuned to the behavior of others that threaten their own status and will
respond aggressively if their status is threatened; this aggression helps regulate the self, their
interpersonal field, and affect (Wright, Hopwood & Simms, 2015).
There are many negative consequences of having a narcissistic leader, one of the main
concerns would be the lack of concern for others. They view themselves as transformational
leaders but this view is not shared by others. There is characteristically a misfit between how
narcissists view their own leadership qualities and the impressions of those around them (Judge
et al, 2006); this is also true for narcissistic CEO’s, so narcissism is present in all levels of
management. This absence of self-awareness is disconcerting for performance management
systems when leaders tend to over-estimate their own performance and these ratings are not
aligned with other ratings. Evidence shows that narcissistic leadership has a negative effect on
“followers’” emotions and behaviors (Braun, 2017), and team collaboration (Nevicka et al.,
2011). “A meta-analytic review found that narcissism was also related to counterproductive work
behavior (CWB) (O’Boyle et al., 2012)” (Braun, 2017).
Murphy Police Station Change Plan
The first step in converting my organization from narcissistic leadership to covenant
leadership would be to discard of the current ideology within the department. The most effective
way to get rid of a bad habit is to replace it with a better habit. Narcissist exhibit the behaviors
they do because they benefit them in some manner. So, the ideal choice is to replace the
narcissistic behaviors with healthier covenant leadership skills. The next step is to bring in
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individuals who will support this type of work environment. Having individuals who will support
the necessary changes and will make the transition a little easier than attempting to accomplish
this feat alone. Final step would be to implement policies that produce an environment where
covenant leadership can thrive.
In a Covenant leadership environment “we will see that a covenantal model emphasizes
the following:
1) An ethos of empowerment, mutual care, and mutual accountability.
2) A leadership style of servant leadership.
3) A process of participative decision-making.
4) A structure of non-centralization; and
5) A culture of spirituality in the workplace” (Fischer & 2017).
The principle of a covenant is individuals joining together and electing to care for and
submit to one another, deciding to listen and engage. In this way, covenant affirms both
individual rights and what is best for everyone because individuals retain their own rights by
caring for one another. “Covenant relationships emphasize trust, mutuality, and shared values
(Neuman & Kickul, 1998). Therefore, covenant relationships are based upon and require a deep
sense of trust among all engaged parties (Arjoon, 2006)” (Fischer & 2017).
The main way I would implement the covenant style leadership would be to implement
an open-door policy. An open-door policy conveys to employees that the door is always open
(literally or metaphorically) for communication and complaints. It will be put into place to let
employees know that they have an avenue for all issues to be addressed, and they should never
feel as though they do not have anyone to turn to.
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When implementing my open-door policy, I would provide an explanation of the justification
behind the policy, outlining the many of the benefits gained. To whom the employee should turn,
such as a direct supervisor, before taking advantage of the open-door policy. To whom the
employee should turn thereafter should the first person:
obe unavailable,
obe part of the discussion, or
onot resolve the issue to the employee’s satisfaction
And finally, a note that the employee has an obligation to employ the open-door policy for any
concerns.
This policy will not only help to better the work environment but help to establish who may
be set in the narcissistic leadership style. The open-door policy is the epitome of a covenant
leadership should consist of but it can only work if the correct standards are put into place. Some
pitfalls that should be avoided when initiating an open-door policy are:
managers that are rarely available or highly distracted while employees are trying to talk,
leaders may appear uninterested in what’s really going on with their team.
the policy being left uncontrolled causing oversharing and too much socializing amongst
managers and employees, leading to the perception of favoritism.
employees relying too heavily on their superiors causing them to not be able to problem-
solve on their own, leading to a loss of productivity.
Information being shared inappropriately or unevenly among employees, the company
loses the chance for the entire team to operate at peak efficiency.
Clear communication is the foundation to creating a successful open-door policy. Some
effective ways of communication would be providing the individuals in the workplace
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information on how to proceed with the open-door policy. If the door is open, feel free to come
to discuss any workplace issues. If the door is closed, please take note of the available times on
my calendar and make an appointment. In emergency situations, such as an injury, knock on my
door if it’s closed or come find me immediately if I’m not in. Please be equipped to answer the
following questions about the situation you are coming to discuss. Does this issue affect just you,
several team members, other departments? What are 2-3 options to solve the problem?
Christian Worldview
Romans 16: 17-19 says:
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles
contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not
serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they
deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over
you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.
This scripture accurately describes what a narcissist is. The bible speaks of how we are supposed
to avoid such individuals because their ways are not pleasing to God.
Covenant refers to a condition where a moral force, conventionally God, is a party,
habitually a direct party to, or guarantor of a certain relationship (Elazar, 1977). Covenants are
explicitly religious whereas contracts and compacts do not explicitly invoke the name of God.
Elzar stated in many of his works how the Biblical principal of a convent greatly influenced the
idea of covenant the Near Eastern culture (1977, 1978, 1981; Walzer 1985). According to Elazar
(1978):
The Israelites took over the idea and techniques of covenant-making from their neighbors
but turned the idea on its head. Mesopotamian and West Semitic covenants were
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designed to limit previously independent entities by making them vassals, regulating their
external behavior but leaving their internal life alone. Israelite covenants, on the other
hand, functions as liberating devices that call into existence new entities. God, by
entering into a covenant with humans, accepts a limitation on the exercise of his
omnipotence, thus endowing mankind with freedom but the price of that freedom is the
acceptance of an internal reform, as well as external obligations. The covenant becomes
the framework for mutual obligation and the basis of a new law and politics internally
and externally (p. 7).
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References
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Articles: GBR.” Graziadio Business Review | Graziadio School of Business and
Management | Pepperdine University, 22 Feb. 2018, gbr.pepperdine.edu/2016/10/the-
covenantal-leader/.
Elazar, D. J. (1977). The covenant idea and politics. Workshop on Covenant and Politics, Temple
University, Center for the Study of Federalism
Elazar, D. J. (1978). Covenant as the basis of the Jewish political tradition. The Jewish Journal of
Sociology 20, (No 1): 5-37.
Elazar, D. J. (1979). Federalism and covenant. Workshop on Covenant and Politics, Philadelphia,
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Elazar, D. J. (1980b). The political theory of covenant: Biblical origins and modern
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