A R T I C L E

Narcissistic Leaders:The Incredible Pros,the Inevitable Consby Michael Maccoby

P R O D U C T N U M B E R 5 9 0 4

New sections to

guide you through

the article:

• The Idea in Brief

• The Idea at Work

• Exploring Further . . .

Successful, charismatic,

and visionary leaders

often harbor the seeds

of their own—and their

company’s—destruction.

Here’s how to

avoid that fate.

HBROnPoint

F R O M T H E H A R V A R D B U S I N E S S R E V I E W

“W ’ the difference between Larry

Ellison and God? God doesn’t believe he’s Larry.”

So quips an executive about Oracle’s larger-

than-life leader. Charisma, vision—and, yes, big

ego—define many larger-than-life leaders—Jack

Welch, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs—who adorn today’s

business-magazine covers.

Such “narcissistic” leaders are essential during

times of transition. Gifted strategists and coura-

geous risk-takers, they inspire others and drive

their organizations toward a compelling future.

But they can also be emotionally isolated and

highly distrustful, prone to hair-trigger rages

and grandiose airs. They can ruin their company

if their excesses go uncontrolled. The challenge?

Getting the most out of them—while ensuring

that they neither self-destruct nor endanger

their companies.

For companies whose narcissistic leaders recog-

nize their limitations, this innovative age could

be the best of times. For other companies, it

could be the worst.

Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons

STRENGTHS OF THE NARCISSISTIC LEADER

Narcissistic leaders see the “big picture” and

offer gripping visions of the future. Skilled ora-

tors and creative strategists, they attract and

inspire scores of followers.

WEAKNESSES OF THE NARCISSISTIC LEADER

As they garner adulation and success, these lead-

ers begin to feel invincible. They ignore caution-

ary words and take flagrant risks. They listen

only to information they seek and begin domi-

nating subordinates (e.g., Steve Jobs publicly

humiliates employees). Other problems follow:

Sensitivity to criticism. Unimaginably thin-

skinned, narcissists can’t tolerate dissent. They

say they want teamwork but really want yes-

men.

Lack of empathy. They crave empathy but are

not empathetic themselves. They can be brutally

exploitative.

Intense desire to compete. They pursue victory

ruthlessly, often unrestrained by conscience and

convinced that threats abound. (“Only the para-

noid survive,” Andy Grove of Intel maintains.)

AVOIDING THE TRAPS

Productive narcissists avoid these traps by:

Finding a trusted sidekick—ideally a col-

league—who keeps them rooted in reality,

points out the operational requirements of their

visions, and gets them to accept new ideas. Don

HBR OnPoint © 2001 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved.

Quixote had Sancho Panza, Bill Gates has

Microsoft president Steve Ballmer, and Larry

Ellison has Oracle COO Ray Lane.

Indoctrinating their organizations. Convert-

ing people to their point of view by providing

impressive rewards for people who internal-

ize—and commit to—their vision. (GE’s Jack

Welch embodies this approach.)

Getting psychotherapy. Self-reflecting leaders

who are aware of their irrational needs can

remain highly productive.

HOW TO SURVIVE WORKING FOR A NARCISSIST

Empathize with your boss’s feelings—but don’t

expect empathy back. Understand the vulnera-

bility behind the display of infallibility. Support

his best impulses—without becoming syco-

phantic.

Give your boss ideas, but let him take thecredit for them. Find out what he thinks before

presenting your views. If you think he’s wrong,

show him how a different approach will benefit

him.

Hone your time-management skills. Make

yourself available at any time, but prioritize his

too-many requests. Forget those that don’t

make sense; he will, too.

I N B R I E F

T H E I D E A A T W O R K

T H E I D E A

Many leaders dominating business

today have what psychoanalysts call

a narcissistic personality. That’s

good news for companies that need

passion and daring to break new

ground. But even productive

narcissists can be dangerous for

organizations. Here is some advice

on avoiding the dangers.

AR

TW

OR

K B

Y D

AV

ID L

AFL

EU

R

Copyright © 1999 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. 69

here’s something new and daringabout the CEOs who are transforming today’sindustries. Just compare them with the exec-

utives who ran large companies in the 1950s throughthe 1980s. Those executives shunned the press andhad their comments carefully crafted by corporatePR departments. But today’s CEOs –superstars suchas Bill Gates, Andy Grove, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, andJack Welch – hire their own publicists, write books,grant spontaneous interviews, and actively promotetheir personal philosophies. Their faces adorn thecovers of magazines like Business Week, Time, andthe Economist. What’s more, the world’s businesspersonalities are increasingly seen as the makers andshapers of our public and personal agendas. Theyadvise schools on what kids should learn and law-makers on how to invest the public’s money. Welook to them for thoughts on everything from thefuture of e-commerce to hot places to vacation.

by Michael Maccoby

NARCISSISTICLEADERS

THE INCREDIBLE PROS,

THE INEVITABLE CONS

T

There are many reasons today’s business leadershave higher profiles than ever before. One is thatbusiness plays a much bigger role in our lives thanit used to, and its leaders are more often in the lime-light. Another is that the business world is experi-encing enormous changes that call for visionaryand charismatic leadership. But my 25 years of con-sulting both as a psychoanalyst in private practiceand as an adviser to top managers suggest a third

reason – namely, a pro-nounced change in thepersonality of the stra-tegic leaders at the top.As an anthropologist, Itry to understand peo-ple in the context inwhich they operate,and as a psychoanalyst,I tend to see themthrough a distinctlyFreudian lens. Given

what I know, I believe that the larger-than-life lead-ers we are seeing today closely resemble the person-ality type that Sigmund Freud dubbed narcissistic.“People of this type impress others as being ‘per-sonalities,’” he wrote, describing one of the psycho-logical types that clearly fall within the range ofnormality. “They are especially suited to act as asupport for others, to take on the role of leaders, andto give a fresh stimulus to cultural development ordamage the established state of affairs.”

Throughout history, narcissists have alwaysemerged to inspire people and to shape the future.When military, religious, and political arenas domi-nated society, it was figures such as Napoléon Bona-parte, Mahatma Gandhi, and Franklin Delano Roo-sevelt who determined the social agenda. But fromtime to time, when business became the engine ofsocial change, it, too, generated its share of narcis-sistic leaders. That was true at the beginning of thiscentury, when men like Andrew Carnegie, John D.

Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford ex-ploited new technologies and restructured Ameri-can industry. And I think it is true again today.

But Freud recognized that there is a dark side tonarcissism. Narcissists, he pointed out, are emo-tionally isolated and highly distrustful. Perceivedthreats can trigger rage. Achievements can feedfeelings of grandiosity. That’s why Freud thoughtnarcissists were the hardest personality types to analyze. Consider how an executive at Oracle de-scribes his narcissistic CEO Larry Ellison: “The dif-ference between God and Larry is that God does notbelieve he is Larry.” That observation is amusing,but it is also troubling. Not surprisingly, most peo-ple think of narcissists in a primarily negative way.After all, Freud named the type after the mythicalfigure Narcissus, who died because of his pathologi-cal preoccupation with himself.

Yet narcissism can be extraordinarily useful –even necessary. Freud shifted his views about nar-cissism over time and recognized that we are allsomewhat narcissistic. More recently, psychoana-lyst Heinz Kohut built on Freud’s theories and de-veloped methods of treating narcissists. Of course,only professional clinicians are trained to tell if narcissism is normal or pathological. In this arti-cle, I discuss the differences between productiveand unproductive narcissism but do not explore theextreme pathology of borderline conditions andpsychosis.

Leaders such as Jack Welch and George Soros areexamples of productive narcissists. They are giftedand creative strategists who see the big picture andfind meaning in the risky challenge of changing theworld and leaving behind a legacy. Indeed, one rea-son we look to productive narcissists in times ofgreat transition is that they have the audacity topush through the massive transformations that soci-ety periodically undertakes. Productive narcissistsare not only risk takers willing to get the job donebut also charmers who can convert the masses withtheir rhetoric. The danger is that narcissism canturn unproductive when, lacking self-knowledgeand restraining anchors, narcissists become unreal-istic dreamers. They nurture grand schemes andharbor the illusion that only circumstances or ene-mies block their success. This tendency towardgrandiosity and distrust is the Achilles’ heel of nar-cissists. Because of it, even brilliant narcissists cancome under suspicion for self-involvement, unpre-dictability, and –in extreme cases –paranoia.

It’s easy to see why narcissistic leadership doesn’talways mean successful leadership. Consider thecase of Volvo’s Pehr Gyllenhammar. He had adream that appealed to a broad international audi-

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Narc iss ist ic Leaders

Productive narcissists

have the audacity to

push through the

massive transformations

that society periodically

undertakes.

Michael Maccoby is an anthropologist and a psychoana-

lyst. He is also the founder and president of the Maccoby

Group, a management consultancy in Washington, DC.

The former director of the Program on Technology, Public

Policy, and Human Development at Harvard University’s

Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachu-

setts, Maccoby is the author of The Leader: A New Face

for American Management (Simon & Schuster, 1981),

The Gamesmen: The New Corporate Leaders (Simon &

Schuster, 1977), and Why Work? Motivating the New

Workforce (Second Edition, Miles River Press, 1995).

ence – a plan to revolutionize the industrial work-place by replacing the dehumanizing assembly linecaricatured in Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times.His wildly popular vision called for team-basedcraftsmanship. Model factories were built and pub-licized to international acclaim. But his success inpushing through these dramatic changes alsosowed the seeds for his downfall. Gyllenhammarstarted to feel that he could ignore the concerns ofhis operational managers. He pursued chancy andexpensive business deals, which he publicized ontelevision and in the press. On one level, you canascribe Gyllenhammar’s falling out of touch withhis workforce simply to faulty strategy. But it isalso possible to attribute it to his narcissistic per-sonality. His overestimation of himself led him tobelieve that others would want him to be the czar ofa multinational enterprise. In turn, these fantasiesled him to pursue a merger with Renault, whichwas tremendously unpopular with Swedish em-ployees. Because Gyllenhammar was deaf to com-plaints about Renault, Swedish managers wereforced to take their case public. In the end, share-holders aggressively rejected Gyllenhammar’s plan,leaving him with no option but to resign.

Given the large number of narcissists at the helmof corporations today, the challenge facing organi-zations is to ensure that such leaders do not self-destruct or lead the company to disaster. That cantake some doing because it is very hard for narcis-sists to work through their issues – and virtuallyimpossible for them to do it alone. Narcissists needcolleagues and even therapists if they hope to breakfree from their limitations. But because of their ex-treme independence and self-protectiveness, it isvery difficult to get near them. Kohut maintainedthat a therapist would have to demonstrate an ex-traordinarily profound empathic understanding andsympathy for the narcissist’s feelings in order togain his trust. On top of that, narcissists must rec-ognize that they can benefit from such help. Fortheir part, employees must learn how to recognize –and work around – narcissistic bosses. To help themin this endeavor, let’s first take a closer look atFreud’s theory of personality types.

Three Main Personality TypesWhile Freud recognized that there are an almost in-finite variety of personalities, he identified threemain types: erotic, obsessive, and narcissistic. Mostof us have elements of all three. We are all, for ex-ample, somewhat narcissistic. If that were not so,we would not be able to survive or assert our needs.The point is, one of the dynamic tendencies usually

dominates the others, making each of us react dif-ferently to success and failure.

Freud’s definitions of personality types differedover time. When talking about the erotic personal-ity type, however, Freud generally did not mean asexual personality but rather one for whom lovingand above all being loved is most important. Thistype of individual is dependent on those peoplethey fear will stop loving them. Many erotics areteachers, nurses, and social workers. At their mostproductive, they are developers of the young as wellas enablers and helpers at work. As managers, theyare caring and supportive, but they avoid conflictand make people dependent on them. They are, ac-cording to Freud, outer-directed people.

Obsessives, in contrast, are inner-directed. Theyare self-reliant and conscientious. They create andmaintain order and make the most effective opera-tional managers. They look constantly for ways to

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Not long after Freud described his threepersonality types in 1931, psychoanalyst ErichFromm proposed a fourth personality type,which has become particularly prevalent intoday’s service economy. Fromm called thistype the “marketing personality,” and it isexemplified by the lead character in WoodyAllen’s movie Zelig, a man so governed by hisneed to be valued that he becomes exactly likethe people he happens to be around.

Marketing personalities are more detachedthan erotics and so are less likely to cementclose ties. They are also less driven by con-science than obsessives. Instead, they are moti-vated by a radarlike anxiety that permeateseverything they do. Because they are so eagerto please and to alleviate this anxiety, market-ing personalities excel at selling themselvesto others.

Unproductive marketing types lack direc-tion and the ability to commit themselvesto people or projects. But when productive,marketing types are good at facilitating teamsand keeping the focus on adding value asdefined by customers and colleagues. Likeobsessives, marketing personalities are avidconsumers of self-help books. Like narcissists,they are not wedded to the past. But marketingtypes generally make poor leaders in times ofcrisis. They lack the daring needed to innovateand are too responsive to current, rather thanfuture, customer demands.

Fromm’s Fourth Personality Type

help people listen better, resolve conflict, and findwin-win opportunities. They buy self-improve-ment books such as Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habitsof Highly Effective People. Obsessives are alsoruled by a strict conscience – they like to focus oncontinuous improvement at work because it fits inwith their sense of moral improvement. As entre-preneurs, obsessives start businesses that expresstheir values, but they lack the vision, daring, andcharisma it takes to turn a good idea into a great one.The best obsessives set high standards and commu-nicate very effectively. They make sure that instruc-tions are followed and costs are kept within budget.The most productive are great mentors and teamplayers. The unproductive and the uncooperativebecome narrow experts and rule-bound bureaucrats.

Narcissists, the third type, are independent andnot easily impressed. They are innovators, drivenin business to gain power and glory. Productive nar-cissists are experts in their industries, but they gobeyond it. They also pose the critical questions.They want to learn everything about everythingthat affects the company and its products. Unlikeerotics, they want to be admired, not loved. Andunlike obsessives, they are not troubled by a pun-ishing superego, so they are able to aggressivelypursue their goals. Of all the personality types, nar-cissists run the greatest risk of isolating themselvesat the moment of success. And because of their in-dependence and aggressiveness, they are constantlylooking out for enemies, sometimes degeneratinginto paranoia when they are under extreme stress.(For more on personality types, see the sidebar“Fromm’s Fourth Personality Type.”)

Strengths of the Narcissistic Leader When it comes to leadership, personality type canbe instructive. Erotic personalities generally makepoor managers – they need too much approval. Ob-sessives make better leaders – they are your opera-tional managers: critical and cautious. But it is nar-cissists who come closest to our collective image ofgreat leaders. There are two reasons for this: theyhave compelling, even gripping, visions for compa-nies, and they have an ability to attract followers.

Great Vision. I once asked a group of managers todefine a leader. “A person with vision” was a typi-cal response. Productive narcissists understand thevision thing particularly well, because they are bynature people who see the big picture. They are notanalyzers who can break up big questions into man-ageable problems; they aren’t number crunchers either (these are usually the obsessives). Nor dothey try to extrapolate to understand the future –

they attempt to create it. To paraphrase GeorgeBernard Shaw, some people see things as they areand ask why; narcissists see things that never were and ask why not.

Consider the difference between Bob Allen, a pro-ductive obsessive, and Mike Armstrong, a produc-tive narcissist. In 1997, Allen tried to expand AT&Tto reestablish the end-to-end service of the Bell Sys-tem by reselling local service from the regional Belloperating companies (RBOCs). Although this was a worthwhile endeavor for shareholders and cus-tomers, it was hardly earth-shattering. By contrast,through a strategy of combining voice, telecommu-nications, and Internet access by high-speed broad-band telecommunication over cable, Mike Arm-strong has “created a new space with his name onit,” as one of his colleagues puts it. Armstrong isbetting that his costly strategy will beat out theRBOC’s less expensive solution of digital sub-scriber lines over copper wire. This example illus-trates the different approaches of obsessives andnarcissists. The risk Armstrong took is one thatfew obsessives would feel comfortable taking. Hisvision is galvanizing AT&T. Who but a narcissisticleader could achieve such a thing? As Napoléon – aclassic narcissist –once remarked, “Revolutions areideal times for soldiers with a lot of wit – and thecourage to act.”

As in the days of the French Revolution, theworld is now changing in astounding ways; narcis-sists have opportunities they would never have inordinary times. In short, today’s narcissistic leadershave the chance to change the very rules of the game.Consider Robert B. Shapiro, CEO of Monsanto.Shapiro described his vision of genetically modify-ing crops as “the single most successful introduc-tion of technology in the history of agriculture, including the plow” (New York Times, August 5,1999). This is certainly a huge claim –there are stillmany questions about the safety and public accep-tance of genetically engineered fruits and vegeta-bles. But industries like agriculture are desperatefor radical change. If Shapiro’s gamble is successful,the industry will be transformed in the image ofMonsanto. That’s why he can get away with paint-ing a picture of Monsanto as a highly profitable“life sciences” company – despite the fact thatMonsanto’s stock has fallen 12% from 1998 to theend of the third quarter of 1999. (During the sameperiod, the S&P was up 41%.) Unlike Armstrongand Shapiro, it was enough for Bob Allen to winagainst his competitors in a game measured primar-ily by the stock market. But narcissistic leaders areafter something more. They want – and need – toleave behind a legacy.

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Scores of Followers. Narcissists have vision – butthat’s not enough. People in mental hospitals alsohave visions. The simplest definition of a leader issomeone whom other people follow. Indeed, narcis-sists are especially gifted in attracting followers,and more often than not, they do so through lan-guage. Narcissists believe that words can movemountains and that inspiring speeches can changepeople. Narcissistic leaders are often skillful ora-tors, and this is one of the talents that makes themso charismatic. Indeed, anyone who has seen nar-cissists perform can attest to their personal mag-netism and their ability to stir enthusiasm amongaudiences.

Yet this charismatic gift is more of a two-way af-fair than most people think. Although it is not al-ways obvious, narcissistic leaders are quite depen-dent on their followers – they need affirmation, andpreferably adulation. Think of Winston Churchill’swartime broadcasts or J.F.K.’s “Ask not what yourcountry can do for you” inaugural address. The adu-lation that follows from such speeches bolsters the

self-confidence and conviction of the speakers. Butif no one responds, the narcissist usually becomesinsecure, overly shrill, and insistent – just as RossPerot did.

Even when people respond positively to a narcis-sist, there are dangers. That’s because charisma is adouble-edged sword – it fosters both closeness andisolation. As he becomes increasingly self-assured,the narcissist becomes more spontaneous. He feelsfree of constraints. Ideas flow. He thinks he’s invin-cible. This energy and confidence further inspirehis followers. But the very adulation that the nar-cissist demands can have a corrosive effect. As heexpands, he listens even less to words of cautionand advice. After all, he has been right before, whenothers had their doubts. Rather than try to persuadethose who disagree with him, he feels justified inignoring them – creating further isolation. The re-sult is sometimes flagrant risk taking that can leadto catastrophe. In the political realm, there is noclearer example of this than Bill Clinton.

Weaknesses of the Narcissistic LeaderDespite the warm feelings their charisma canevoke, narcissists are typically not comfortablewith their own emotions. They listen only for the

kind of information they seek. They don’t learn eas-ily from others. They don’t like to teach but preferto indoctrinate and make speeches. They dominatemeetings with subordinates. The result for the or-ganization is greater internal competitiveness at atime when everyone is already under as much pres-sure as they can possibly stand. Perhaps the mainproblem is that the narcissist’s faults tend to be-come even more pronounced as he becomes moresuccessful.

Sensitive to Criticism. Because they are extraor-dinarily sensitive, narcissistic leaders shun emo-tions as a whole. Indeed, perhaps one of the greatestparadoxes in this age of teamwork and partnering isthat the best corporate leader in the contemporaryworld is the type of person who is emotionally iso-lated. Narcissistic leaders typically keep others atarm’s length. They can put up a wall of defense asthick as the Pentagon. And given their difficultywith knowing or acknowledging their own feelings,they are uncomfortable with other people express-ing theirs –especially their negative feelings.

Indeed, even productive narcissists are extremelysensitive to criticism or slights, which feel to themlike knives threatening their self-image and theirconfidence in their visions. Narcissists are almostunimaginably thin-skinned. Like the fairy-taleprincess who slept on many mattresses and yetknew she was sleeping on a pea, narcissists – evenpowerful CEOs – bruise easily. This is one explana-tion why narcissistic leaders do not want to knowwhat people think of them unless it is causing thema real problem. They cannot tolerate dissent. Infact, they can be extremely abrasive with employ-ees who doubt them or with subordinates who aretough enough to fight back. Steve Jobs, for example,publicly humiliates subordinates. Thus, althoughnarcissistic leaders often say that they want team-work, what that means in practice is that they wanta group of yes-men. As the more independent-minded players leave or are pushed out, successionbecomes a particular problem.

Poor Listeners. One serious consequence of thisoversensitivity to criticism is that narcissistic lead-ers often do not listen when they feel threatened orattacked. Consider the response of one narcissisticCEO I had worked with for three years who askedme to interview his immediate team and reportback to him on what they were thinking. He invited

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One of his greatest problems is that the narcissist’s faults tend to become

even more pronounced as he becomes more successful.

me to his summer home to discuss what I hadfound. “So what do they think of me?” he askedwith seeming nonchalance. “They think you arevery creative and courageous,” I told him, “but theyalso feel that you don’t listen.” “Excuse me, what didyou say?” he shot back at once, pretending not tohear. His response was humorous, but it was alsotragic. In a very real way, this CEO could not hearmy criticism because it was too painful to tolerate.Some narcissists are so defensive that they go so faras to make a virtue of the fact that they don’t listen.As another CEO bluntly put it, “I didn’t get here bylistening to people!” Indeed, on one occasion whenthis CEO proposed a daring strategy, none of hissubordinates believed it would work. His subse-quent success strengthened his conviction that hehad nothing to learn about strategy from his lieu-tenants. But success is no excuse for narcissisticleaders not to listen.

Lack of Empathy. Best-selling business writerstoday have taken up the slogan of “emotional com-petencies” –the belief that successful leadership re-quires a strongly developed sense of empathy. Butalthough they crave empathy from others, produc-tive narcissists are not noted for being particularlyempathetic themselves. Indeed, lack of empathy isa characteristic shortcoming of some of the mostcharismatic and successful narcissists, includingBill Gates and Andy Grove. Of course, leaders do

need to communicate persua-sively. But a lack of empathydid not prevent some of his-tory’s greatest narcissisticleaders from knowing how tocommunicate – and inspire.Neither Churchill, de Gaulle,Stalin, nor Mao Tse-tung wereempathetic. And yet they in-spired people because of theirpassion and their conviction ata time when people longed forcertainty. In fact, in times ofradical change, lack of empa-thy can actually be a strength.

A narcissist finds it easier than other personalitytypes to buy and sell companies, to close and movefacilities, and to lay off employees – decisions thatinevitably make many people angry and sad. Butnarcissistic leaders typically have few regrets. Asone CEO says,”If I listened to my employees’ needsand demands, they would eat me alive.”

Given this lack of empathy, it’s hardly surprisingthat narcissistic leaders don’t score particularlywell on evaluations of their interpersonal style.What’s more, neither 360-degree evaluations of

their management style nor workshops in listeningwill make them more empathic. Narcissists don’twant to change – and as long as they are successful,they don’t think they have to. They may see theneed for operational managers to get touchy-feelytraining, but that’s not for them.

There is a kind of emotional intelligence associ-ated with narcissists, but it’s more street smartsthan empathy. Narcissistic leaders are acutelyaware of whether or not people are with themwholeheartedly. They know whom they can use.They can be brutally exploitative. That’s why, eventhough narcissists undoubtedly have “star quality,”they are often unlikable. They easily stir up peopleagainst them, and it is only in tumultuous times,when their gifts are desperately needed, that peopleare willing to tolerate narcissists as leaders.

Distaste for Mentoring. Lack of empathy and ex-treme independence make it difficult for narcissiststo mentor and be mentored. Generally speaking,narcissistic leaders set very little store by mentor-ing. They seldom mentor others, and when they dothey typically want their protégés to be pale reflec-tions of themselves. Even those narcissists like JackWelch who are held up as strong mentors are usuallymore interested in instructing than in coaching.

Narcissists certainly don’t credit mentoring oreducational programs for their own development asleaders. A few narcissistic leaders such as Bill Gatesmay find a friend or consultant – for instance, War-ren Buffet, a superproductive obsessive – whomthey can trust to be their guide and confidant. Butmost narcissists prefer “mentors” they can control.A 32-year-old marketing vice president, a narcissistwith CEO potential, told me that she had rejectedher boss as a mentor. As she put it, “First of all, I want to keep the relationship at a distance. I don’twant to be influenced by emotions. Second, thereare things I don’t want him to know. I’d rather hirean outside consultant to be my coach.” Althoughnarcissistic leaders appear to be at ease with others,they find intimacy – which is a prerequisite formentoring – to be difficult. Younger narcissists willestablish peer relations with authority rather thanseek a parentlike mentoring relationship. Theywant results and are willing to take chances arguingwith authority.

An Intense Desire to Compete. Narcissistic lead-ers are relentless and ruthless in their pursuit ofvictory. Games are not games but tests of their sur-vival skills. Of course, all successful managerswant to win, but narcissists are not restrained byconscience. Organizations led by narcissists aregenerally characterized by intense internal compe-tition. Their passion to win is marked by both the

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There is a kind

of emotional

intelligence

associated with

narcissists, but

it’s more street

smarts than

empathy.

promise of glory and the primitive danger of extinc-tion. It is a potent brew that energizes companies,creating a sense of urgency, but it can also be dan-gerous. These leaders see everything as a threat. AsAndy Grove puts it, brilliantly articulating the nar-cissist’s fear, distrust, and aggression, “Only theparanoid survive.” The concern, of course, is thatthe narcissist finds enemies that aren’t there – evenamong his colleagues.

Avoiding the Traps There is very little business literature that tells nar-cissistic leaders how to avoid the pitfalls. There aretwo reasons for this. First, relatively few narcissis-tic leaders are interested in looking inward. Andsecond, psychoanalysts don’t usually get closeenough to them, especially in the workplace, towrite about them. (The noted psychoanalyst HarryLevinson is an exception.) As a result, advice onleadership focuses on obsessives, which explainswhy so much of it is about creating teamwork andbeing more receptive to subordinates. But as we’vealready seen, this literature is of little interest tonarcissists, nor is it likely to help subordinates un-derstand their narcissistic leaders. The absence ofmanagerial literature on narcissistic leaders doesn’tmean that it is impossible to devise strategies fordealing with narcissism. In the course of a long ca-reer counseling CEOs, I have identified three basicways in which productive narcissists can avoid thetraps of their own personality.

Find a trusted sidekick. Many narcissists can de-velop a close relationship with one person, a side-kick who acts as an anchor, keeping the narcissisticpartner grounded. However, given that narcissis-tic leaders trust only their own insights and view of reality, the sidekick has to understand the nar-cissistic leader and what he is trying to achieve.The narcissist must feel that this person, or in somecases persons, is practically an extension of him-self. The sidekick must also be sensitive enough tomanage the relationship. Don Quixote is a classicexample of a narcissist who was out of touch withreality but who was constantly saved from disasterby his squire Sancho Panza. Not surprisingly, manynarcissistic leaders rely heavily on their spouses,the people they are closest to. But dependence onspouses can be risky, because they may further iso-late the narcissistic leader from his company bysupporting his grandiosity and feeding his paranoia.I once knew a CEO in this kind of relationship withhis spouse. He took to accusing loyal subordinatesof plotting against him just because they ventured a few criticisms of his ideas.

It is much better for a narcissistic leader tochoose a colleague as his sidekick. Good sidekicksare able to point out the operational requirementsof the narcissistic leader’s vision and keep himrooted in reality. The best sidekicks are usually pro-ductive obsessives. Gyllenhammar, for instance,

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The Rise and Fall of a NarcissistThe story of Jan Carlzon, the former CEO of theScandinavian airline SAS, is an almost textbookexample of how a narcissist’s weaknesses can cutshort a brilliant career. In the 1980s, Carlzon’svision of SAS as the businessperson’s airline waswidely acclaimed in the business press; manage-ment guru Tom Peters described him as a modelleader. In 1989, when I first met Carlzon and hismanagement team, he compared the ideal organi-zation to the Brazilian soccer team –in principle,there would be no fixed roles, only innovativeplays. I asked the members of the managementteam if they agreed with this vision of an empow-ered front line. One vice president, a former pilot,answered no. “ I still believe that the best organi-zation is the military,” he said. I then askedCarlzon for his reaction to that remark. “Well,”he replied, “that may be true, if your goal is toshoot your customers.”

That rejoinder was both witty and dismissive;clearly, Carlzon was not engaging in a serious dia-logue with his subordinates. Nor was he listeningto other advisers. Carlzon ignored the issue ofhigh costs, even when many observers pointedout that SAS could not compete without improv-ing productivity. He threw money at expensiveacquisitions of hotels and made an unnecessaryinvestment in Continental Airlines just monthsbefore it declared bankruptcy.

Carlzon’s story perfectly corroborates theoften-recorded tendency of narcissists to becomeoverly expansive –and hence isolated –at the verypinnacle of their success. Seduced by the flatteryhe received in the international press, Carlzon’sself-image became so enormously inflated thathis feet left the ground. And given his vulner-ability to grandiosity, he was propelled by a needto expand his organization rather than develop it.In due course, as Carlzon led the company deeperand deeper into losses, he was fired. Now he is aventure capitalist helping budding companies.And SAS has lost its glitter.

was most effective at Volvo when he had an obses-sive COO, Håkan Frisinger, to focus on improvingquality and cost, as well as an obsessive HR direc-tor, Berth Jönsson, to implement his vision. Simi-larly, Bill Gates can think about the future from thestratosphere because Steve Ballmer, a tough obses-sive president, keeps the show on the road. At Ora-cle, CEO Larry Ellison can afford to miss key meet-ings and spend time on his boat contemplating afuture without PCs because he has a productive ob-sessive COO in Ray Lane to run the company forhim. But the job of sidekick entails more than justexecuting the leader’s ideas. The sidekick also hasto get his leader to accept new ideas. To do this, hemust be able to show the leader how the new ideasfit with his views and serve his interests. (For moreon dealing with narcissistic bosses, see the sidebar“Working for a Narcissist.”)

Indoctrinate the organization. The narcissisticCEO wants all his subordinates to think the way hedoes about the business. Productive narcissists –people who often have a dash of the obsessive per-sonality – are good at converting people to theirpoint of view. One of the most successful at this isGE’s Jack Welch. Welch uses toughness to build acorporate culture and to implement a daring busi-ness strategy, including the buying and selling ofscores of companies. Unlike other narcissistic lead-ers such as Gates, Grove, and Ellison, who havetransformed industries with new products, Welchwas able to transform his industry by focusing onexecution and pushing companies to the limits ofquality and efficiency, bumping up revenues andwringing out costs. In order to do so, Welch ham-mers out a huge corporate culture in his own image –a culture that provides impressive rewards for se-nior managers and shareholders.

Welch’s approach to culture building is widelymisunderstood. Many observers, notably NoelTichy in The Leadership Engine, argue that Welchforms his company’s leadership culture throughteaching. But Welch’s “teaching” involves a per-sonal ideology that he indoctrinates into GE man-agers through speeches, memos, and confronta-tions. Rather than create a dialogue, Welch makespronouncements (either be the number one or twocompany in your market or get out), and he insti-tutes programs (such as Six Sigma quality) that be-come the GE party line. Welch’s strategy has beenextremely effective. GE managers must either in-ternalize his vision, or they must leave. Clearly,this is incentive learning with a vengeance. I wouldeven go so far as to call Welch’s teaching brain-washing. But Welch does have the rare insight andknow-how to achieve what all narcissistic business

leaders are trying to do – namely, get the organiza-tion to identify with them, to think the way theydo, and to become the living embodiment of theircompanies.

Get into analysis. Narcissists are often more in-terested in controlling others than in knowing anddisciplining themselves. That’s why, with very fewexceptions, even productive narcissists do not wantto explore their personalities with the help of in-sight therapies such as psychoanalysis. Yet sinceHeinz Kohut, there has been a radical shift in psy-

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Working for a NarcissistDealing with a narcissistic boss isn’t easy. You haveto be prepared to look for another job if your bossbecomes too narcissistic to let you disagree withhim. But remember that the company is typicallybetting on his vision of the future –not yours. Hereare a few tips on how to survive in the short term:� Always empathize with your boss’s feelings, butdon’t expect any empathy back. Look elsewherefor your own self-esteem. Understand that behindhis display of infallibility, there hides a deep vul-nerability. Praise his achievements and reinforcehis best impulses, but don’t be shamelessly syco-phantic. An intelligent narcissist can see throughflatterers and prefers independent people who truly appreciate him. Show that you will protecthis image, inside and outside the company. But becareful if he asks for an honest evaluation. Whathe wants is information that will help him solve aproblem about his image. He will resent any hon-esty that threatens his inflated self-image and willlikely retaliate.� Give your boss ideas, but always let him takethe credit for them. Find out what he thinks beforepresenting your views. If you believe he is wrong,show how a different approach would be in hisbest interest. Take his paranoid views seriously,don’t brush them aside –they often reveal sharp in-tuitions. Disagree only when you can demonstratehow he will benefit from a different point of view. � Hone your time-management skills. Narcissis-tic leaders often give subordinates many more or-ders than they can possibly execute. Ignore the requests he makes that don’t make sense. Forgetabout them. He will. But be careful: carve out freetime for yourself only when you know there’s alull in the boss’s schedule. Narcissistic leaders feelfree to call you at any hour of the day or night.Make yourself available, or be prepared to get out.

choanalytic thinking about what can be done tohelp narcissists work through their rage, alien-ation, and grandiosity. Indeed, if they can be per-suaded to undergo therapy, narcissistic leaders canuse tools such as psychoanalysis to overcome vitalcharacter flaws.

Consider the case of one exceptional narcissisticCEO who asked me to help him understand why heso often lost his temper with subordinates. He livedfar from my home city, and so the therapy was spo-radic and very unorthodox. Yet he kept a journal ofhis dreams, which we interpreted together either by phone or when we met. Our analysis uncoveredpainful feelings of being unappreciated that wentback to his inability to impress a cold father. Hecame to realize that he demanded an unreasonableamount of praise and that when he felt unappreci-ated by his subordinates, he became furious. Oncehe understood that, he was able to recognize hisnarcissism and even laugh about it. In the middle of our work, he even announced to his top teamthat I was psychoanalyzing him and asked themwhat they thought of that. After a pregnant pause,one executive vice president piped up, “Whateveryou’re doing, you should keep doing it, because youdon’t get so angry anymore.” Instead of beingtrapped by narcissistic rage, this CEO was learninghow to express his concerns constructively.

Leaders who can work on themselves in that waytend to be the most productive narcissists. In addi-tion to being self-reflective, they are also likely to beopen, likable, and good-humored. Productive narcis-sists have perspective; they are able to detach them-selves and laugh at their irrational needs. Althoughserious about achieving their goals, they are alsoplayful. As leaders, they are aware of being perform-ers. A sense of humor helps them maintain enoughperspective and humility to keep on learning.

The Best and Worst of Times As I have pointed out, narcissists thrive in chaotictimes. In more tranquil times and places, however,even the most brilliant narcissist will seem out ofplace. In his short story The Curfew Tolls, StephenVincent Benét speculates on what would have hap-pened to Napoléon if he had been born some 30years earlier. Retired in prerevolutionary France,Napoléon is depicted as a lonely artillery majorboasting to a vacationing British general about howhe could have beaten the English in India. Thepoint, of course, is that a visionary born in thewrong time can seem like a pompous buffoon.

Historically, narcissists in large corporationshave been confined to sales positions, where they

use their persuasiveness and imagination to best effect. In settled times, the problematic side of thenarcissistic personality usually conspires to keepnarcissists in their place, and they can typically riseto top management positions only by starting theirown companies or by leaving to lead upstarts. Con-sider Joe Nacchio, formerly in charge of both thebusiness and consumer divisions of AT&T. Nac-chio was a supersalesman and a popular leader inthe mid-1990s. But his desire to create a new net-work for business customers was thwarted by col-leagues who found him abrasive, self-promoting,and ruthlessly ambitious.

Two years ago, Nacchioleft AT&T to become CEOof Qwest, a company that is creating a long-distancefiber-optic cable network.Nacchio had the credibil-ity – and charisma – to sellQwest’s initial public offer-ing to financial markets andgain a high valuation. With-in a short space of time, heturned Qwest into an attrac-tive target for the RBOCs, which were looking tomove into long-distance telephony and Internetservices. Such a sale would have given Qwest’sowners a handsome profit on their investment. ButNacchio wanted more. He wanted to expand – tocompete with AT&T – and for that he needed localservice. Rather than sell Qwest, he chose to make abid himself for local telephone operator U.S. West,using Qwest’s highly valued stock to finance thedeal. The market voted on this display of expan-siveness with its feet –Qwest’s stock price fell 40%between last June, when he made the deal, and theend of the third quarter of 1999. (The S&P indexdropped 5.7% during the same period.)

Like other narcissists, Nacchio likes risk – andsometimes ignores the costs. But with the dramaticdiscontinuities going on in the world today, moreand more large corporations are getting into bedwith narcissists. They are finding that there is nosubstitute for narcissistic leaders in an age of inno-vation. Companies need leaders who do not try toanticipate the future so much as create it. But nar-cissistic leaders – even the most productive ofthem – can self-destruct and lead their organiza-tions terribly astray. For companies whose narcis-sistic leaders recognize their limitations, these willbe the best of times. For other companies, thesecould turn out to be the worst.

To place an order, call 1-800-988-0886.

harvard business review January–February 2000 77

Narc iss ist ic Leaders

More and more

corporations are

finding there is

no substitute for

narcissistic

leaders in this age

of innovation.

Product no. 5904To further explore the topic of this article, go to www.hbr.org/explore.

ARTICLES

“Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humilityand Fierce Resolve” by Jim Collins (HarvardBusiness Review, January 2001, Product no.5831)

The rare, but extraordinarily successful,

“Level 5” leadership style described in this

article stands in stark contrast to the narcis-

sistic style described by Maccoby. “Level 5

leadership” is characterized not by charisma,

ego, and larger-than-life celebrity—but by a

paradoxical combination of deep humility and

intense, even monomaniacal, professional

will. Collins found Level 5 leaders at the helm

of the 11 out of 1,435 Fortune 500 companies

that made the transition from “good” to

“great”: These companies gained and sus-

tained at least three times their industry’s

market share for at least 15 years after a tran-

sition period. Collins paints a compelling and

counterintuitive picture of the skills and per-

sonality traits necessary for effective leader-

ship; i.e., in addition to humility and will,

ferocious resolve and the tendency to give

credit to others while assigning blame to

themselves.

“Leadership That Gets Results” by DanielGoleman (Harvard Business Review,March–April 2000, Product no. 4487)

Goleman reinforces and expands on

Maccoby’s argument that, to remain produc-

tive—and avoid destroying themselves and

their companies—narcissistic leaders have to

hone their skills at self-reflection. Goleman

frames these skills as emotional intelligence

(EI), outlining five essential EI competencies

for aspiring leaders: self-awareness, self-regu-

lation, motivation, empathy, and social skill.

He then describes six leadership styles, each

of which makes use of the key components of

emotional intelligence in different combina-

tions: coercive, authoritative, affiliative, dem-

ocratic, pacesetting, and coaching. The best

leaders don’t use just one style of leadership—

they’re skilled at several, and have the flexibil-

ity to switch among styles as circumstances

dictate.

“Building Your Company’s Vision” by JamesC. Collins and Jerry I. Porras (Harvard BusinessReview, September–October 1996, Productno. 410X)

In this article, Collins and Porras focus on

visionary power—one of the qualities that

makes narcissistic leaders so valuable. An

enduring vision must consist of two compo-

nents: core ideology and an envisioned future.

A core ideology itself has two parts: core val-

ues (that handful of guiding principles by

which a company navigates) and core purpose

(the idealistic motivation behind people’s will-

ingness to work for their company). Likewise,

an envisioned future contains “big, hairy,

audacious goals,” or BHAGs (ambitious multi-

year plans that rev up the entire organization)

and vivid descriptions of what it would be like

to achieve the BHAGs. The authors warn

companies not to confuse their BHAGs with

their purpose; BHAGs are meant to be achiev-

able, while a firm’s core purpose is never com-

pletely realized.

Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons E X P L O R I N G F U R T H E R . . .

H A R V A R D B U S I N E S S S C H O O L P U B L I S H I N G

www.hbsp.harvard.edu

U.S. and Canada: 800-988-0886

617-783-7500 • Fax: 617-783-7555

To learn about other products from HBR OnPoint, please visit:

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