The Inherent Narcissism of Leadership

A recent raft of articles have pointed to the downsides of narcissistic leaders - they may be driven and focused, but their tendency to leave a trail of bruised and battered people often becomes their undoing. Yet, the mere act of stepping forward and self-declaring for leadership requires a certain amount of hubris; after all, it takes some narcissistic tendencies to think oneself worthy of leading others.A refreshing addition to the narcissistic leader literature, putting a more nuanced spin on the issues, comes from INSEAD Professor Quy Huy who argues that success is often contingent on counter-balancing the narcissism with humility. By combining these two seemingly incongruent traits. leaders can soften the harshness of a purely self-interested and driven style.Huy's points make sense to me. I have long thought that the amount of narcissism one must possess to pursue, say, the presidency of the United States is scary. Who else would want, let alone think themselves capable of doing the job? Huy may explain why some leaders (and would-be leaders) grate on our sensibilities, while others seem less overtly toxic. Maybe the "fierce resolve" part of Jim Collins' Level 5 Leadership draws on narcissism, while the balance of humility Collins identifies creates a persona that others want to follow.