Introduction
Most literature on leadership paints a rather positive picture of the leader. Even our
video cases show leaders doing or trying to do the right thing. There is a complementary
literature, however, that suggests a darker side to some leader behaviors. I have included
in this module three articles that focus on negative, i.e. toxic, features of leaders. Two
are classics (Conger and Maccoby) and another (Kets de Vries) is more recent. While
Conger and Maccoby provide examples relevant to the times they were writing, they
both make very insightful comments on leadership, especially narcissistic tendencies on
the part of some leaders. Kets de Vries expands the dark side to include mental health
and passive-aggressive behaviors.
It is very difficult to get an accurate assessment of these dark side traits. For example,
senior executives are usually not open to completing personality questionnaires. Both
Maccoby and de Vries are practicing therapists with considerable experience working
with executives. So, their insights tend to be more from a psychoanalytic perspective.
Discussion Assignment
For this class discussion assignment, I would like you to discuss the following:
•
•
What are some key takeaways? In this respect, I think it is a good idea to
express your thoughts in your own words.
Can you give some examples of a leader you know who you suspected had
dark side tendencies (please disguise names, unless they are public figures).
Sometimes the dark side of leadership eclipses the bright side—
to the detriment of both the leader and the organization.
The Dark Side of Leadership
JAY A. CONGER
n recent years, business leaders have gained
great popularity: Lee Iaccoca and Steven
/ Jobs, for example, have stepped into the
limelight as agents of change and entrepreneurship. But though we tend to think of the positive outcomes associated with leaders, certain
risks or liabilities are also entailed. The very
behaviors that distinguish leaders from
managers also have the potential to produce
problematic or even disastrous outcomes for
their organizations. For example, when a
leader's behaviors become exaggerated, lose
touch with reality, or become vehicles for
purely personal gain, they may harm the leader
and the organization.
How do leaders produce such negative
outcomes —and why? Three particular skill
areas can contribute to such problems. These
include leaders' strategic vision, their communications and impression-management skills,
and their general management practices. We
will examine each to discover its darker side.
PROBLEMS WITH THE
VISIONARY LEADER
44
As we know, the 1970s and 1980s brought
tremendous changes in the world's competitive business environment. Previously successful organizations that had grown huge and bureaucratic were suddenly faced with pressures
to innovate and alter their ways. Out of these
turbulent times came a new breed of business
leader: the strategic visionary. These men and
women, like Ross Perot of Electronic Data Systems and Mary Kay Ash of Mary Kay Cosmetics, possessed a twofold ability: to foresee
market opportunities and to craft organizational strategies that captured these opportunities in ways that were personally meaningful to employees. When their success stories
spread, "vision" became the byword of the
1980s. Yet though many of these leaders led
their organizations on to great successes, others
led their organizations on-to great failures. The
very qualities that distinguished the visionary
leader contained the potential for disaster.
Generally speaking, unsuccessful strategic
visions can often be traced to the inclusion of
the leaders' personal aims that did not match
their constituents' needs. For example, leaders
might substitute personal goals for what should
be shared organizational goals. They might
construct an organizational vision that is essentially a monument to themselves and therefore something quite different from the actual
wishes of their organizations or customers.
Moreover, the blind drive to create this
very personal vision could result in an inability to see problems and opportunities in the
environment. Thomas Edison, for example, so
passionately believed in the future of direct
electrical current (DC) for urban power grids
that he failed to see the more rapid acceptance
of alternating power (AC) systems by America's
then-emerging utility companies. Thus the
company started by Edison to produce DC
power stations was soon doomed to failure.
He became so enamoured of his ov/n ideas that
he failed to see competing and, ultimately,
more successful ideas.
In addition, such personal visions encourage the leader to expend enormous
amounts of energy, passion, and resources on
getting them off the ground. The higher their
commitment, the less willing they are to see
the viability of competing approaches. Because
of the leader's commitment, the organization's
investnient is also likely to be far greater in
such cases. Failure therefore will have more
seriou:S consequences.
Fundamentcil errors in the leader's perceptions can also lead to a failed vision. Common
problems include (1) an inability to detect important changes in markets (e.g., competitive,
technological, or consumer needs); (2) a failure to accurately assess and obtain the necessary resources for the vision's accomplishment;
and (3) a misreading or exaggerated sense of
the needs of markets or constituents. For example^ with a few exceptions like the Chrysler
minivan. Lee Iacocca inaccurately believed that
autorriobile style rather than engineering was
the primary concern of automotive buyers. At
Chrysler, he relied on new body styles and his
charisma to market cars built on an aging chassis (the K car) developed in the late 1970s. The
end result was that, after several initial years
of successful sales, Chrysler's sales plunged
22.8% in 1987. Today, the future of Chrysler
looks equally cloudy.
Ultimately, then, the success of a leader's
strategic vision depends on a realistic assessment of both the opportunities and the constraints in the organization's environment and
a sensitivity to constituents' needs. If the leader
loses sight of reality or loses touch with constituents, the vision becomes a liability. Visions
may fail for a wide variety of reasons; Exhibit
1 outlines some of the more significant ones.
We will examine several of these categories and
illustrate them with the experiences of some
prominent business leaders.
Exhibit 1
THE SOURCES OF EMLED VISION
The vision reflects the intemal needs of leaders
rather than those of the market or constituents.
The resources needed to achieve vision have been
seriously miscalculated.
An uru-ealistic assessment or distorted perception
of market and constituent needs holds swray.
A failure to recognize environmental changes prevents redirection of the vision.
Making the Leader's Personal Needs ParatciQunt
As mentioned, one of the most serious liabilities of a visionary leader occurs whea he
or she projects purely personal needs and beliefs onto those of constituents. A common example is the inventor with a pet idea whq acquires sufficient resources to initiate a venture
that fails to meet the market's needs. When a
leader's needs and wishes diverge from those
of constituents, the consequences can be quite
costly. Consider, for example, Edwin Landi inventor of the Polaroid camera. Dr. Land's experiences with a camera he developed called
the SX-70 illustrate how a leader can get sidetracked by his own personal goals.
As we know. Land's company, Polaroid,
held a monopoly on the instant photography
market for some three decades and became the
household word for such cameras. Throqghout the 1960s and 1970s, Polaroid's sales
climbed with astonishing speed. By 1973] four
million of the company's Colorpack caxneras
were being sold annually at $30 a piece. But
Dr. Land was not content. His dream wfas to
create what he called "absolute one-step photography"; the SX-70 camera was to embody
his dream. "Photography v/ill never be the same
. . . With the gargantuan effort of brinjging
SX-70 into being, the company has come fully
of age," Land remarked on the day of the
camera's inauguration.
In setting the parameters for his new vision. Land outlined several demanding criteria:
The camera was to be totally automatic and
would have to fold to fit into a purse or pocket, 45
Jay A. Conger is associate professor of organizational behavior at the Faculty of
Management, McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He received his D.B.A. degree from the Harvard Business School,
his M.B.A. degree from the University of
Virginia, and a B.A. degree in anthropology from Dartmouth College. As the
director of International marketing for a
high-technoiogy company, he also has experience as a practicing manager.
Professor Conger's research centers
on executive leadership, the management
of organizational change, and the training
and development of leaders. His work on
these subjects has been published in
numerous book chapters and journals
such as The Academy of Management Review and The Academy of Management
Executive. His most recent books include
The Charismatic Leader (Jossey-Bass,
1989) and Charismatic Leadership, coauthored with R. N. Kanungo {JosseyBass, 1988). He has servea as a consultant cp executive development and organizational change to a wide variety of
U.S. and Canadian companies.
46
possess a single-lens reflex-viewing system, and
focus from less than a foot to infinity. It was
to be a radically new design, making earlier
versions of instant photography obsolete.
The SX-70 also represented a major strategic shift for the company. Before its advent,
the manufacturing of Polaroid products, especially films, was subcontracted to outsiders.
Plant and equipment were usually leased or
rented. But Land's dream of the SX-70 required
total integration of the company. A colornegative and camera-assembly plant were de-
signed and built, and the company's existing
chemical production and films-packaging facilities were expanded.
Although the total cost of the SX-70
strategy was never formally disclosed. Land
responded in an interview that it was a halfbillion-dollar investment. Other estimates have
put it higher. In any case, the SX-70 was a design masterpiece. It was estimated that the
reflex-viewing system cost millions of dollars
and required more than two-and-a-half years
of engineering effort. Engineering for the eyepiece alone cost $2 million.
Land's expectations of the camera's success were as lavish as his investment in the camera. At S180 per camera, company projections
were that first-year sales would reach several
million. By some accounts, sales of 5,000,000
units were predicted. 'Yet despite such optimism, the camera met with only limited public support. 3y the end of its first year inl973,
only 470,000 SX-70 cameras had been sold. Ir
would take several years, many design changes,
and significant price cuts before the camera
would gain widespread market acceptance —
all at the cost of sacrificing many of the camera's
original features. Land's personal vision or the
instant camera had missed vvhat the irKirket
wanted.
Most important, in his quest for the perfect instant camera he had failed to take into
account lessons that his company had already
learned about consumers' needs. Before the SX70, Polaroid's experience with both its blackand-white and its color cameras was that demand was intimately tied to price. Consumers
wanted an inexpensive, earj^^-to-use, instant
camera. Their foremost desire was not a perfect picture but a relatively good instant picture at a low price.
In the j.960s, the marketplace had powerfully demonstrated its needs to Polaroid after
the company first introduced its color system
in 1963. Vvhen the Colorpack cameras priced
at SlOO met with only limited market interest,
Polaroid introduced a version at $75 and, by
1969, a 830 Colorpack. At the $30 price level,
volume dramatically expanded, and 4.000,000
units were sold by 1973. Consumers wanted
instant photography but only at an inexpensive price. So how could 5,000,000 SX-70s at
$180 a piece be sold when only 4,000,000
Colorpack cameras had been sold at $30 each?
Clearly they could not. Dr. Land's vision was
a personal ideal, one that was not shared by
consupiers at a price of $180 per camera.
VVhat happened to Land that he failed to
learn from the past? There are several possible
explanations. For one, his initial vision of instant photography had been correct; people
really did want instant photographs. This initial success, however, may have convinced him
of the 'invincibility of his ideas. Second, Land
was an engineer at heart; he loved the technology rnore than the marketing of the product.
His very background made him product- and
technology-driven, not so much marketplacedriven. Finally and most important, I believe
that Land, like other leaders, came to identify
with his vision to an unhealthy extreme: The
vision personified him.
A similar example is seen in Henry Ford,
who vyas willing to build a Model T of any
color as long as it was black. The vision in
essence becomes so much a part of the leader's
persortality that he or she is unwilling or unable to consider information to the contrary
from staff members or from the marketplace.
Convinced by past successes of their invincibility, such leaders plov/ ahead without considering other viewpoints — a sure course toward failure.
Becoming a "Pyrrhic Victor"
In the quest to achieve a vision, a leader
may be so driven as to ignore the costly implications of his strategic aims. Ambition and the
miscalculation of necessary resources can lead
to a "Pyrrhic victory" for the leader. The term
"Pyrrhic victory" comes from an incident in
Ancient Greece: Pyrrhus, the King of Epirus,
sustained such heavy losses in defeating the
Romans that despite his numerous victories
over them, his entire empire was ultimately
undermined. Thus the costs of a "Pyrrhic" victory deplete the resources that are needed for
future success.
In this scenario, the leader is usually driven
by a desire to expand or accelerate the realization of his vision. The initial vision appears
correct, and early successes essentially delude
or weaken the leader's ability to realistically
assess his resources and marketplace realities.
The costs that must be paid for acquisitions
or market share ultimately become unsustainable and threaten the long term viability of the
leader's organization.
Robert Campeau is the quintessential Pyrrhic victor. After amassing a fortune as a real
estate developer, he proceeded to expand his
empire into retailing with a series of purchases
in the mid-1980s totalling $13.4 billion. He did
this despite the fact that he knew little about
the business of retailing itself. His celebrated
purchase of the Allied and Federated Department Stores alone cost him some $400 million
in bankers' and lawyers' fees and added $?^1.7
billion of debt to the Campeau Corporation.
They also transformed him overnight into the
most powerful retailer in the world. The price
of course was an enormous amount of debt—
much of it in the form of high-interest junk
bonds that would soon demand most of the
company's operating cash to service.
When asked how he planned to successfully integrate and enhance the profitability of
these new and unrelated acquisitions, Campeau explained that it was only a matter of
consolidating various operations, selling off assets to pay off company debt, and motivating
management by giving them stock options.
With an air of great confidence, he commented:
"I own the best department stores in the world,
and they will be damned profitable." He also
envisioned enormous potential for synerg^i^ between his retailing and real estate operations.
His plans included the building of some 50 US.
shopping malls anchored b3'^ his newly acquired
retail stores. These projects, which included
17 new Bloomingdale's stores, were estimated
at a cost of $1.5 billion. In comments to the
press, he stated: "Most retail managements 47
48
don't know much about real estate and finance
. . . [but] real estate is the gravy on top of these
great retailing deals." For Campeau, his newly
acquired stores sat on prime land—ripe for future deals. It was an intriguing and untried
dream.
Ironically, these bold strategic moves were
all made during a sales slowdown in the department store industry and in a country glutted
with shopping malls. As well, the two chains
he had acquired were prestigious but also
notoriously inefficient. None of these factors
seemed to impede Campeau, who was intent
on building an empire.
Despite his rosy projections for the future,
Campeau's kingdom quickly unraveled within
a few years. After struggling to meet a crushing debt load, Campeau's retail operations ran
out of operating cash in August 1989. By January 1990 his company stood on the edge of
bankruptcy, and so did Campeau himself. The
projections of great profitability for the retail
operations had never materialized. New and
last-minute junk-bond financing to keep the
company alive came at a dear price, with interest rates as high as 1775%. But this would
not save the company as soaring debt-servicing costs forced Campeau to sell off company
stock to others and to default on company
loans. Even the company's crown jewel —
Bloomingdale's—was soon put up for sale.
Campeau's own personal fortune of $500 million was said to have ail but evaporated by
February 1990.
Campeau's tragic error in this case was tied
as much to blind ambition as it was to poor
strategic and financing decision. His history
of successes in the real estate field, in combination with an ambitious personality, led this
visionary leader to dream, of ever-greater expansion, but in new and unfamiliar territories.
The idea of an "empire" became more important than the satisfaction of enjoying his present successes. Failing to see that he lacked the
long-term resources or skills needed to sustain
his grand, plan, he continued to acquire companies and debt at an alarming rate.
Then, too, in wishing to maintain an im-
age of self-confidence, he may have denied or
minimized the existence of any problems. Already an autocratic leader, Campeau became
even more autocratic. For example, he himself assumed the position of chairman of the
board at both Federated and Allied, a job he
had originally and sensibly promised to an executive of a highly successful retail chain. He
wanted to run his new and glamorous acquisitions personally. Sadly, this scenario is all too
typical of the Pyrrhic victor whose ambitions
stymie his ability to assess goals and resources
realistically. Investment bankers and subordinates may further encourage visions of grandeur. As serious problems emerge, their importance is minimized. Once a crisis stage is
reached, the leader exerts greater personal control and becomes less able to hear the counsel
of advisors or staff members who might be
helpful. In the worst case, such as Campeau's,
the organization's resources are exhausted and
the company fails.
Chasing a Vision Before Its Time
Sometimes a leader's perceptions of the
market are so exaggerated or so significantly
ahead of their time that the marketplace fails
to sustain the leader's venture. The organization's resources are mobilized and spent on a
mission that ultimately fails to produce the expected results. In this case, the leader is perhaps too visionary or too idealistic. He or she
is unable to see that the time is not ripe, so
the vision goes on to failure or, at best, a long
dormancy.
Robert Lipp, former president of Chemical Bank, is an example of a visionary charismatic who in one project was essentially too
far ahead of his time. He had championed a
vision of home banking in the early 1980s.
Sensing that the personal computer was revolutionizing many aspects of everyday life, Lipp
and others at Chemical Bank expected personal
banking to be the next beneficiary of the personal computer revolution. Tiirough a modem,
phone line, software supplied by the bank, and
a personal computer at home, individuals could
instruct their banks to carry out certain transactions. A service fee of $8 to $15 a month
was charged for personal users and $20 to $50
a month for small businesses. From the user's
viewpoint, home banking provided convenience in bill paying and ease of access to accounts. While on travel, the user could instruct
the system to pay bills on exact due dates.
For banks, electronic home banking was
banking led to consumer resistance. First, customers were reluctant to give up the "float" between when they wrote a check and when it
was cashed. With home banking, once the computer authorizes a payment, it is immediately
debited from the customer's account.
Second, some investment—for a computer
and a modem—was required on the customer's
part. It is estimated that only 10% of personal
computer owners had modems — and the num-
sconce a crisis stage is reached, the leader exerts
greater personal control and becomes less able
to hear the counsel of advisors or staff members who might be helpful."
very appealing. The printing, processing, and
return of some 41 billion checks annually in
the United States amounted to $41 billion. This
figure represented 20 % of the annual revenues
of banks belonging to the Federal Reserve System. Hc^me banking offered the possibility of
a tremendous reduction in operating costs.
In 1P83, Chemical Bank under Lipp's guidance introduced a home banking system called
the Pror^to Two with a goal of four m illion customers v^rithin several years. By 1988, however,
the total nationwide users of home banking
systems jiad reached only 100,000 people. An
article iiji Business Week (February 29, 1988)
remarked: "When Chemical Bank unveiled the
idea of home banking in 1983, it projected that
10% of itjs customere would eventually pay bills
and make banking transactions from their home
computer. Talk about misplaced optimism. Today, if you're among those who deal with any
bank by J)ersonal computer, you're in a minority
of a mere 100,000 people —and that includes
a numbet of small business operators," Only
30 banks |were offering the service by 1988, out
of a tot4 of 14,000 banks nationwide.
What Chemicaii and others later discovered
was that Several inherent problems with home
ber of personal computers in homes v.ias
limited. Finally, it was a matter of opinion
whether writing a paper check was not jiist
as simple and convenient as paying bills by personal computer. Given the costs of such opmputer systems, it was believed that only by
providing a wider range of services, such as
home shopping services, would home banking's appeal increase — and that a period of 10
to 15 3^ars was required for market acceptance.
In Lipp's case, his vision was essentially
premature for its market. Part of the problein
could be attributed to the difficulty of tryiiitg
to predict a future event for which there isi rto
history. It is extremely difficult to accurately
estimate the demand for a particular product
or service; the leader is essentially relying; oln
his or her forecast of resources and market
trends. The margin for error in these situations is high, and the costs and time horizons
for introducing a new product or service 'a-ve
often underestimated. Such miscalculati6;ris
can forestall a vision.
Two other factors may play important
roles. In their own excitement over an idfefi,
leaders may fail to adequately test-market ii
new product or service or fail to hear naysayters
49
or overlook contrary signs from the environment. Again, because of successes in other
projects (Lipp had had several outstanding
ones), they may delude themselves into believing they know their markets more accurately
than they actually do. Or their spellbinding
ability to lead may not be backed up by an
adequate understanding of marketplace trends.
HOW LEADERS COME TO DENY FLAWS IN
THEIR VISIONS
All three of these cases share certain characteristics that cause leaders to deny the flaws
in their visions. Often, for example, leaders
will perceive that their course of action is
producing negative results, yet they persist.
Why this happens can be explained by a
process called "cognitive dissonance," which
prevents the leader from changing his course.
Simply put, individuals act to keep the commitments they have made because failing to
do so would damage their favorable perceptions of themselves. For example, studies have
found that executives will sometimes persist
in an ineffective course of action simply because they feel they have committed themselves
to the decision. This same process, I suspect,
occurs with leaders.
50
Others in the organization, who tend to
become dependent on a visionary leader, may
perpetuate the problem, through their own actions. They may idealize their leader excessively and thus ignore negative aspects and exaggerate the good qualities. As a result, they
may carry out their leader's orders unquestioningly—and leaders may in certain cases encourage such behavior because of their needs to
dominate and be admired. The resulting sense
of omnipotence encourages denial of market
and organizational realities. The danger is that
leaders will surround themselves with "yes people" and thus fail to receive information that
might be important but challenging to the mission. Their excessive confidence and the desire
for heroic recognition encourages them to undertake large,, risky ventures — but because of
Exhibit 2
POTENTIAL LIABILITIES IN THE LEADER'S
COMMUNICATIONS AND IMPRESSION
MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Exaggerated self-descriptions.
Exaggerated claims for the vision,
A technique of fulfilling stereotypes and images of
uniqueness to manipulate audiences.
A habit of gaining commitment by restricting
negative information and maximizing positive
information.
Use of anecdotes to distract attention away from
negative statistical information.
Creation of an illusion of control through affirming information and attributing negative outcomes to external causes.
their overreliance on themselves and their cadre
of "yes people," strategic errors go unnoticed.
Bold but poorly thought-out strategies will be
designed and implemented. The leader's vision,
in essense, becomes a vehicle for his or her own
needs for attention and visibility.
Finally, problems with "group-think" can
occur where the leader's advisors delude themselves into agreement with the leader or dominant others. In such a case, decision-making
becomes distorted, and a more thorough and
objective review of possible alternatives to a
problem are all but precluded. This is especially true of groups that are very cohesive,
highly committed to their success, under pressure, and possessing favorable opinions of
themselves—common characteristics in the organizations of powerful and charismatic
leaders. When group-think occurs, the opinions of the leader and advisors with closely
allied views come to dominate decision making. Doubts that others might have are kept
hidden for fear of disapproval. It is more important "to go along to get along" rather than
to consider contrary viewpoints.
John DeLorean is an example of a leader
who may have purposely created group-think
situations. One executive of the DeLorean
Motor Company, after being dismissed by
DeLorean from the company board, com-
mented: "He told me he knew how some of
the things the board was doing bothered my
conscience. He said he wanted me to keep a
clear conscience and not to worry as much as
I did, so he had dropped me from the board.
. . . . When I told him he couldn't bear having
anyone disagree with him so he had to stack
the board his way, John , . . just nodded and
said, 'That's right. It's my company and I'm
going to do what I want to do — when you get
your own company, you can do the same'" (Hill
Levin, Grand Delusions, Viking, 1983, pg.
248).
MANIPULATION THROUGH
IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT ANT)
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Because some leaders are gifted at communicating, it may be quite easy for them to
misuse this ability. For instance, they may present infoi'mation that makes their visions appear mof'e realistic or more appealing than the
visions actually are. They may also use their
language skills to screen out problems in the
larger er^vironment or to foster an illusion of
control when, in reality, things are out of control. Exhibit 2 highlights a number of these possible problem areas.
While at General Motors John DeLorean
was partjicularly adept at employing skills of
articulation and impression management to
promote! himself. For example, he would often
claim responsibility for projects without acknowledging the contributions of others. His
aim was simply to manipulate information so
that he afjpeared as the originating genius. In
the case 6f the highly successful Pontiac GTO,
DeLoreah claimed to be the engineer at Pontiac whc^ conceived the idea of combining a
lighter version of the Tempest body with a
powerful engine to create the GTO. In reality,
the idea jwas suggested by a GM colleague.
In Current Biography, DeLorean is described ai owning "more than 200 patents, including fjhose for the recessed windshield
wipers arid the overhead-cam engine." How-
ever, Hill Levin in his biography of DeLoreian
reported that the U.S. Patent Office listed a total of 52 patents, none for the wipers or Jor
the overhead cam. Exaggeration of personal
deeds was perhaps DeLorean's way of building the legend. What we see with some leaders
is that their need for personal recognition and
visibility is so high that they feel compelled
to distort reality to enhance their own image.
When leaders rely greatly on their impression management skills in communicating, ttiey
do themselves a disservice. For instance, research in impression management indicates not
only that one's self-descriptions are effective in
deceiving an audience, but also that they may
deceive the presenter as well. This is especially
true when an audience reinforces and approires
of the individual's image. Such positive iresponses encourage leaders to internalize their
ov\m self-enhancing descriptions, Especiallj/^
when exaggeration is only moderate, leaders
tend to internalize and believe such claims. So
DeLorean may ultimately have come to believe
in his own responsibility for the Pontiac GTQ,
Considerable research has also been performed on people who are ingratiators ~
people who play to their audiences by telling
them what they want to hear. Two particular
tactics that I suspect charismatic leaders use
to ingratiate themselves with their audiences
are to (1) fulfill stereotypes and (2) create an
image of uniqueness.
Research shows that if individuals behave
in ways that fulfill the positive stereotypes of
an audience they are more likely to interact
successfully with them. This can be achieved
by espousing the beliefs, values, and behaviors
associated with the stereotype and appearing
as the stereotype is expected to look. For example, DeLorean supposedly went to great efforts to present the image of a young, highly
successful executive with an entrepreneurial
spirit. He underwent cosmetic surgery, dieted
from 200 pounds to 160, lifted weights, dyed
his grey hair black. He flew only first class.
When he ate out, he always obtained the best
table. To many, his image fulfilled the stereotype of the successful businessman,
51
DeLorean used the second tactic—to demonstrate uniqueness —through his unconventional actions while working at General Motors and his tales of innovations at the
automobile giant. These stories created the image of a highly successful, unique individual
excelling in the corporate world.
In terms of how or what a leader communicates, according to Charles Schwenk, there
are several tactics that individuals can use to
gain commitment from others even when the
circumstances are unethical. Because our ability to process information is limited, we rely
on simple biases to reduce the amount of information needed to make a decision. Byplaying on these biases, a leader can create or
heighten commitment to a course of action.
They may manipulate information so as to encourage biases in others that will increase confidence in and commitment to the leader's strategic choices. For example, leaders can
withhold information that is not favorable to
a cause and present instead more positive information. Or they may relate anecdotes designed to draw attention away from statistical
information that reflects negatively on their
plans.
52
DeLorean's management of investors in his
automobile venture offers one example of this
process. If investors had looked at history, they
would have found that the odds of his succeeding were slim. Not since the founding of the
four major auto companies had a new automobile company succeeded, and there had been
many attempts in the interim. Moreover, there
was negative statistical information in the company prospectus that might have dissuaded investors. But instead of focusing on such important statistical infonnation, the investors
allowed themselves to be swayed by DeLorean's
personal character and his impressive press
coverage while at General Motors. Could it be
that L")eLorean aimed to create aflashyimage
in the minds of investors in order to draw their
attention away from other sources of information?
Anecdotal infonnation may be used by the
leader not only to influence decision makers'
Exhibit 3
POTENTIAL LIABILITIES OF A LEADER'S
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Poor management of people networks, especially
superiors and peers.
Unconventional behavior that alienates.
Creation of disruptive "in group/out group" rivalries.
An autocratic, controlling management style.
An informal/impulsive style that is disruptive and
dysfunctional.
Alternation between idealizing and devaluing others, particularly direct reports.
Creation of excessive dependence in others.
Failure to manage details and effectively act as an
administrator.
Attention to the superficiaL
Absence from operations.
Failure to develop successors of equal ability.
choices, but also to increase their confidence
in a choice. The sheer amount of information
the leader provides may act to build overconfidence. Various studies of decision making indicate that more information apparently permits people to generate more reasons for
justifjdng their decisions and, in turn, increases
the confidence of others in the decisions.
Leaders might also create an illusion of control by selectively providing information that
affirms they are in control and attributes
failures or problems to external causes. All of
these tactics may be used by leaders to mislead their direct reports and their investors.
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT BECOME
LIABILITIES
The managerial practices of leaders also
have certain inherent liabilities. Some leaders
are known for their excessively impulsive, autocratic management style. Others become so
disruptive through their unconventional behavior that their organizations mobilize against
them. Moreover, leaders can at times be poor
at managing their superiors and peers. In
general, some of the very management prac-
tices that make leaders unique maj/^ also lead
to their downfall.
Leaders' liabilities fall into several categories: (1) the way they manage relations with
important others, (2) their management style
with direct reports, and (3) their thoroughness
and attention to certain administrative detail.
Typical problems associated with each of these
categories are shown in Exhibit 3. We will start
with the first category: managing relations with
important others.
Managing Upwards and Sideways
Some leaders —particularly charismatic
leaders in large organizations — seem to be very
poor at managing upwards and sideways. Because they are usually unconventional advocates of radical reform, they may often alienate otheirs in the organization, including their
own bosses. The charismatic leader's unconventiona^l actions may trigger the ire of forces
within the organization which then act to immobilize him or her. Leaders' aggressive style
may alsp alienate many potential supporters
and ultiinately leave them without sufficient
political support for their ambitious plans. This
problem is common when charismatic leaders
are broujght in from the outside; their radically
different values and approaches may alienate
the rest of the organization.
This kind of situation occurred at General
Motors jf/hen Ross Perot was made a board
member^ Once on the board, Perot became one
of the company's most outspoken critics. As
an entrepreneur, he was quite naturally accustomed to running his own show, and after
his comfJany, Electronic Data Systems (EDS),
merged ilvith CM he insisted that any changes
made in EDS procedures be cleared through
him. His style and outspokenness were so much
at odds with the General Motors culture that
the company offered Perot $700 million in
stock to step down, from the board — an offer
he finally accepted.
A second problem related to managing relations within large organizations is the ten-
dency of certain leaders to cultivate a feeling
of being "special" among members of their
operating units. This practice is often accompanied by a corresponding depreciation of
other parts of the corporation. In short, the
leader creates an "us versus them" attitude. Although this heightens the motivation of the
leader's group, it further alienates other groups
that may be important for resources or political support. Steven Jobs did this with the
Macintosh division at Apple Computer. E\ien
though the company's Apple II Computer
provided the profits. Jobs consistently downplayed that division's importance. He essentially divided the company into two rivals. He
was fond of telling people in the Macintosh
division, "This is the cream of Apple. This is
the future of Apple." He even went so far as
telling marketing managers for Apple II that
they worked for an outdated, clumsy organization. Jobs's later departure from Apple
stemmed in part from morale problems he
created within the company by using this tactic.
In another case, the charismatic president
of a division in a large corporation used as His
group's emblem a mascot symbol of the TV
cartoon character Roadrunner. (In the cartoons, Roadrunner was particularly adept at
outwitting a wily coyote.) To him, his division
managers were the "roadrunners" who were
smarter and faster than the corporate "coyotes"
who laid roadblocks in their path. He also had
a habit of ignoring corporate staff requests for
reports or information, and he returned their
reports with "STUPID IDEA" stamped on the
front cover. Although such behaviors and tactics fostered a sense of camaraderie and aggressiveness within the charismatic leader's division, they were ultimately detrimental both
to the leader and to the organization. In this
case, the executive eventually stepped dovm
from the organization.
Relationships with Subordinates
Highly directive and visionary leaders are
often described as autocratic. Jobs, for exatn-
53
pie, has been described as dictatorial. I suspect that in many cases the vision is such a
personification of the leader that he or she becomes obsessed about its perfection or implementation. Leaders' natural impatience with
the pace of the vision's achievement exacerbates the problem and encourages them to be
more hands-on, more controlling.
There also appears to be, at times, an impulsive dynamic at work in the way leaders
manage — and at such times they will override
subordinates' suggestions or insights. Again,
this occurs especially in relation to accomplishing the vision. DeLorean is described as increasing his production of the DeLorean car
by 50% in the belief that his product would
become an overnight sensation. Production
went to an annual rate of 30,000 cars. This was
done in spite of market research that showed
total annual sales of between 4,000 and 10,000
cars. A company executive lamented, 'Our
figures showed that this was a viable company
with haif the production. If the extravagence
had been cut out of New York, we could have
broken even making just 6,000 cars a year. But
that wasn't fast enough for John. First he had
to build his paper empire in the stock market.
A creditable success was not enough for him"
(ibid., pg. 282).
54
Steven Jobs is known to have darted in and
out of operations causing havoc: "He would
leap-frog back and forth among various
projects, dictating designs, with little or no
knowledge of whether or not the technology
even existed to make his ideas work" (L.
Butcher, Accidental Millionaire, Paragon
House, 1988, pp. 140-141).
Another potential problem can arise from
a style of informality when managing the hierarchy of an organization — this is especially
true of charismatic leaders. Advantages of this
style are that leaders are highly visible, approachable, and able to react quickly to issues
and problems. The drawback is that they often violate the chain of command by going
around direct reports and thus undercut their
direct reports' authority. If a particular project or idea interests them, they do not hesitate
to become involved, sometimes to the detriment of the project managers' responsibilities.
DeLorean would drop in on his engineers to
suggest what seemed trivial ideas. One company engineer said: "He came in one day to
say we should hook into the cooling system
and make a little icebox for a six-pack of beer
behind behind the driver's seat. Or, another
time, he told us to work on a sixty-watt radio
speaker that could be detached and hung outside the car for picnics" (H. Levin, ibid., pg.
267).
Administrative Skills
Some visionary leaders are so absorbed
by the "big picture" that they fail to understand
essential details-except for "pet" projects in
which they become excessively involved. laccoca, for instance, turned over most of the dayto-day operations to others as he became increasingly famous. As a result, he lost touch
with new model planning. He himself admitted: "If I made one mistake, it was delegating
all the product development and not going to
a single meeting" (ibid., pg. 267). A DeLorean
executive complained "He [John DeLorean] just
didn't have time for the details of the project.
But attention to detail is everything" (ibid., p.
267). Then, too, leaders may get so caught up
in corporate stardom that they become absentee
leaders. Again, laccoca is an example. His success at Chrysler led to his becoming a best-selling
author, a U.S. presidential prospect, and the head
of the $277 million fund-raising campaign for
the Statue of Liberty-all of which distracted
him from the important task of leading Chrysler.
Because these individuals are often excited
by ideas, they may at times be poor implementors. Once an idea begins to appear as a tangible reality, I suspect they fed the need to move
on to the next challenge, thereby leaving subordinates scrambling to pick up the pieces. Furthermore, because some leaders have high needs
for visibility, they gravitate toward activities
that afford them high people contact and recognition. Such activities are generally not per-
formed at a desk while paying careful attention to the details.
Succession Problems
A tiiue leader is usually a strong figure and,
as noted, often one upon whom subordinates
develop dependencies. Thus it is difficult for
others with leadership potential to develop fully
in the shadow of such leaders. For while they
may actively coach their subordinates, I suspect that it is extremely difficult for them to
develop others to be leaders of equal power.
Leaders simply enjoy the limelight too much to
share it, so when they ultimately depait, a leadership vacuum is created. Moreover, under charismatic leadership authority may be highly centralized around the leader—and this is an ar-
rangement that, unfortunately, weakens the
authority structures that are normally dispersed throughout an organization.
It's clear that many of the qualities of
a strong leader have both a positive and a
negative face. That's why the presence of
leaders entails risks for their direct reports,
their organizations, and at times their societies. They must be managed with care. The
negatives, however, must always be weighed
in light of the positives. For companies and society, the need for organizational change and
strategic vision may be so great that the risks
of confrontation, unconventionality, and so on
may seem a small price to pay. It is also possible that organizations and educational institutions can train, socialize, and manage future
leaders in ways that will minimize their negative qualities.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
For ^n in-depth look at the psychological dynamics of the dark side of leaders, we recommend
The Neurotic Organization (Jossey-Bass, 1984) by
Manfred Kets de Vries and Danny Miller and "Personality, Culture, and Organization" {The Academy
of Maniigement Review, April 1986), also by
Manfredi Kets de Vries and Danny Miller.
Works that provide an informative treatment
on the topic of impression management include The
Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (DoubledayAnchor, 1959) by Erving Goffman and Impression
Management (Brooks/Cole, 1980) by B.R. Schlenker.
Books arid articles that deal more systematically
with the issue of-commitment to a course of action
as well as communicating information are A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Row, Peterson, 1957)
byL. Festinger; Charles R. Schwenk's "Information,
Cognitive Bias, and Commitment to a Course of
Action" {The Academy of Management Review,
April 1986); Barry Staw's "Knee Deep in the Big
Muddy: A Study of Escalating Commitment to a
Chosen Course of Action" {Organizational Behavior
and Human Performance, June 1976); and "The Escalation of Commitment to a Course of Action" {The
Academy of Management Review, October 1981).
The defir^itive work on group-think is Victims of
Group Think (Houghton Mifflin, 1972) by I. L. Janis.
Readers wishing more depth on the individual
case studies of leaders should consult the follov/iiig
sources. For Edwin Land and the SX-70 camera, see
G.W. Merry's Polaroid-Kodak Case Study (Harvafd
Business School, 1976) and P.C. Wensberg's Land's
Polaroid (Houghton Mifflin, 1987). Several articles
on Robert Campeau include "Buy-Out Bomb" {Wall
Street Journal, Jan. 11, 1990), Kate Ballen's "Campeau Is on a Shopper's High" {Fortune, Aug. 15,
1988), and Eric Berg's "Is Campeau Himself Bankrupt?" {New York Times, Feb. 2,1990). Two interesting sources on John DeLorean are Michael Dal/s
'The Real DeLorean Story" {New York, Nov. 8,1982)
and Hill Levin's Grand Delusions (Viking Prei^s,
1983). Accidental Millionaire (Paragon House, 1988)
by Lee Butcher presents a darker-side view of Steii^sn
Jobs. Two articles on the home banking indusl:ry
and its slow takeoff are Efrem Sigel's "Is Home Banking for Real?" {Datamation, Sept. 15, 1986) aitd
Laura Zinn's "Home Banking Is Here — If You V\fent
It" {Business Week, Feb. 29, 1988).
// you wish to make photocopies or obtain reprints
of this or other articles in ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS,
please refer to the special reprint service
instructions on page 80.
55
100 Harvard Business Review
.
April2014
HBR.ORG
Four pathologies that can hobble an
executive and bring misery to the
workplace-and what to do about them.
by Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries
April 2014 Harvard Business Review 101
COACHING THE TOXIC LEADER
enior executives have
the power to create
an environment that
allows people to grow
and give their best-or a toxic
workplace where everyone is
unhappy. How executives end
up using that power depends
in part on their mental health.
Sound, stable bosses generally
build companies where
the rules make sense to
employees, freeing them to
focus on perforrning their
jobs well. But if the boss's
psychological makeup is
warped, business plans,
ideas, interactions, and even
the systems and structure
of the organization itself will
reflect his or her pathologies.
As an executive coach, I've sometimes come
across leaders with mental demons. I've put a num
ber of these bosses on the couch, in an effort to un
derstand and counsel them. In the following pages
I'll describe some of the more common pathologies
I've encountered and explain how I've helped people
deal with them.
Notably, these pathologies don't include iso
lated instances of depression. Depression is part of
the human condition; we all suffer from it. When
it's moderately present, it doesn't require special
coaching intervention. And when it's acute and
chronic, it tends to be part of the syndromes I'll pre
sent here.
102 Harvard Business Review April 2014
Not everyone falls neatly into one or another of
the categories I describe; we're often a bit of this and
a bit of that. And most bosses are not mentally ill, but
a surprising number of senior executives do have a
personality disorder of some kind. Even with ex
ecutives who are relatively healthy emotionally, you
nearly always run across some of the characteristics
described here, which need to be addressed in simi
lar fashion (though not necessarily accompanied by
medication and formal therapy).
While these disorders can be managed, some
toxic leaders will prove impossible to change. (See
the sidebar "The Incurable Executive?') Change can
often be an uphill battle, in no small part because
many companies support (and are even breeding
grounds for) dysfunctional behavior. Fortunately,
most executives recognize when they have prob
lems and have the strength of character to want to
fix them, as the stories that follow will illustrate.
THE NARCISSIST
The dysfunction most frequently found at senior
levels is pathological narcissism. Narcissism is
not something a person either has or hasn't. We all
possess narcissistic characteristics to a degree. In
fact, we need a modicum of narcissism to function
properly-it's part of the immune system, if you will,
HBR.ORG
Idea in Brief
THE PROBLEM
THE REMEDIES
Executives sometimes suffer from serious personality
disorders, such as pathological
narcissism, manic-depression,
passive-aggressiveness, and
emotional disconnection.
When these leaders reach
positions of power, they create
dysfunctional organizations in
which everyone is miserable.
An executive coach can help
people combat these syn
dromes, provided the coach
recognizes their signs and
understands how to address
them. Each pathology requires
a different approach. Narcis
sists have fragile self-esteem
(despite their apparent confi
dence) and react poorly to con
frontation. Coaches must build
defending us against the vicissitudes of life. It en
ables us to feel good about ourselves and to impose
ourselves a little. But too much narcissism is danger
ous. Driven by grandiose fantasies about themselves,
pathological narcissists are selfish and inconsiderate,
demand excessive attention, feel entitled, and pur
sue power and prestige at all costs.
How to Recognize the Condition
A good way to spot a narcissist is to look at how his
subordinates respond to him. Let me tell you about
Simon. When I first met him, he was regarded as
one of the most promising senior executives in
his company, although a number of directors had
doubts about whether he was the right person to
succeed the CEO. Would Simon be able to take the
company to its next level? Did he have enough ma
turity? Given their doubts, I was asked by Agnes,
the VP of talent management, to become Simon's
executive coach with the ·aim of preparing him for
possible succession.
Questions about Simon had begun to arise, Agnes
explained, after he made a series of rash decisions,
which raised a red flag about whether he understood
what the corporation's culture was all about. Mean
while his lobbying efforts to be elected "business
man of the year" had inspired resentment in the
company. If that weren't enough, he had relocated
the regional head office to a new, more upmarket
location. It may have been the right decision (given
the cramped conditions of the old office), but it had
turned out to be a Jot more expensive than planned.
Capping that (and here Agnes sounded exasper
ated), Simon was leasing a small corporate plane
his somewhat lame excuse being that it would save
money, given the difficulties of connecting the head
office to the other offices in the region.
Another criticism related to his deal making. Ag
nes told me that Simon had embarked on a dramatic
them up carefully. In contrast,
making manic-depressives face
reality (in combination with
therapy and medication) is key
to getting them on track. The
goal with passive-aggressives
is teaching them to express an
ger in a healthy, direct manner.
And exploring and describing
emotional experiences helps
the disconnected relate better
to others.
THE BOTIOM LINE
Though some people will prove
impossible to change, these
disorders can all be managed,
and with the right interven
tions, executives with them can
turn things around and become
effective leaders.
expansion plan and discussed possible acquisitions
with investment bankers, despite cautioning from
the people who worked for him.
More generally, people in the organization viewed
Simon as a "user" -he never reciprocated. One per
son said that he felt like part of the furniture on Si
mon's stage to success. Agnes told me that when she
met with some of Simon's subordinates over drinks,
they went on and on about their dislike of what was
happening at the office. Some of the better people
had already joined the competition; some had trans
ferred to different units. It made her (and others)
wonder whether Simon really was the golden boy.
Like many narcissists, Simon was anything but
a wallflower. He was tall, well dressed, and friendly,
with a somewhat seductive manner. He seemed easy
to talk to; he didn't hold back and opened up quickly
about his relatively short tenure at the company
telling me he'd been "poached" from a competitor
and adding that the press had made a fuss about how
costly a hire he'd been. He told me that he'd really
liked his previous job, but given how things stood,
the top job would not have been open for some
time. That was the main reason that he'd accepted
his present position. When I asked about his future,
Simon made it apparent that he believed he was a
shoo-in as the CEO's replacement. He obviously
didn't think much of the other candidates.
Most revealing was the extent to which Simon
lived in a binary world where people were either
"for" or "against" him. He made quite clear that any
one against him would be a target. He'd already re
moved some of the more independent thinkers on
his team. Executives who hesitated to take his side
were easily cast as villains.
Coaching a Narcissist
Tempting though it may be to administer a loud
wake-up call, the first rule when dealing with narApril 2014 Harvard Business Review
103
COACHING THE TOXIC LEADER
cissists is to avoid anything that might upset their
delicate sense of self. Typically, their grandiosity is
a childhood coping mechanism compensating for a
sense of inadequacy-of never being able to please
a parent (although parental "overstimulation" with
out a realistic foundation can have a similar effect).
Narcissists may seem very confident, but that confi
dence conceals a deep vulnerability.
The coach's first goal, then, must be to place the
narcissist's self-esteem on firm foundations, not
destroy it. You must convey respect and acknowl
edge his or her need to be recognized. Though you
shouldn't reinforce grandiose self-perceptions
(which would constitute a denial that anything was
wrong with the executive's way of dealing with oth
ers), neither should you accentuate weaknesses
(which could frighten the narcissist). Show empathy
initially to gain trust, so you can begin to try minor
confrontations of individual dysfunctional behaviors.
The key to success here is exploiting two aspects
of a narcissist's relationships with others:
Transference. Typically, narcissists have a binary
tendency to idealize and devaluate. They're prone
to transferring their childhood desire to please their
parents onto other authority figures, and a coach is
very likely to be one of them. Experienced coaches
(who stay attuned to the fact that the pendulum can
swing in the other direction) will use this propensity
to establish a more secure working relationship that
allows them to begin confronting the narcissist about
his dysfunctions, pointing out how they're limiting
him. Simon quickly saw me as an authority figure,
and that allowed me to make mild suggestions about
what actions might or might not improve his stand
ing in the firm. For example, I was able to suggest that
although the corporate jet might well be a practical
asset for a busy executive, it may actually look some
what ridiculous and perhaps perverse in a context of
cost-cutting initiatives elsewhere-a comment he
took to heart.
Competitiveness. Narcissists' ambitions can be
used to motivate them. With Simon I once went too
far in a criticism, making him angry. He tried to per
suade Agnes to cancel my engagement, but when we
reminded him that he'd been assigned a coach be
cause of his high potential to succeed the CEO, he was
willing to continue, and over several sessions I man
aged to restore equilibrium. The challenge in drawing
on ambitions, of course, is to avoid fueling the nar
cissist's grandiosity. It helps to keep conversations
tactical. Tacitly accept the ambition and discuss how
104 Harvard Business Review April 2014
likely possible actions are to help or hinder the real
ization of the executive's goal. This improves the ac
tual behavior and strengthens the coach's credibility.
Building self-confidence takes time, as it did in
Simon's case. But gradually I could see him become
less needy and more prepared to share the limelight.
He slowly began to empathize with colleagues and
become an effective mentor. All in all, his behavior
was more grounded in reality and better attuned to
the values of the company. The key decision mak
ers there noted the changes and liked what they saw.
When the time came for the CEO to retire, Simon was
selected for the top job.
Unfortunately, narcissists all too commonly re
gress into their old ways, especially once they've
achieved their ambition. For this reason, it's impor
tant to follow up with more engagement. To ensure
the continuity of Simon's new self after his appoint
ment as CEO, I suggested that he attend a CEO semi
nar I was running. I felt that these group sessions
with leaders from other companies would help sta
bilize his new, more balanced self-image.
THE MANIC•DEPRESSIVE
Manic depression, or bipolar disorder, is another
psychological condition that some executives suffer
from. Like most mental disorders, it varies in inten
sity, but even relatively mild forms can derail careers
and alienate friends and colleagues.
HBR.ORG
The Incurable Executive
It's hard to imagine that there are
people who function without a con
How to Recognize the Condition
Let me share another experience I had, this one with
a founder and CEO called Frank. People told me that
dealing with Frank, a person for whom there seemed
to be no emotional middle ground, often made them
feel like fuefigbters; they were constantly running
behind him putting out emotional blazes. But, de
spite his volatility, colleagues also noted how attrac
tive and contagious Frank's energy and ebullience
could be. What's more, he had a knack for drawing
people to him-something that had contributed to
the original success of the furn.
Yet Frank was now a major risk. The firm's situ
ation was precarious: A big expansion attempt had
failed, creating a serious liquidity problem, while a
worrisome number of capable executives were leav
ing or looking for an exit. If Frank couldn't be reined
in, the dissolution of the furn was a real possibility.
When I talked to Frank, it became clear that he
had a bipolar disorder. Some years before (on the ad
vice of his wife), he'd consulted a psychiatrist, who
bad prescribed him lithium. Frank acknowledged
that it had helped him for a while but added that
the experience had been mixed. Life with the drug
was not as rich as life without it: It was more flat and
less exciting and dampened his emotions. What
ever he did-looking at the garden, listening to the
birds, talking with an associate, making a deal-was
experienced much less deeply. He missed the "high
highs;• and he decided to stop taking the medication.
Frank was also no stranger to substance abuse.
He would turn to alcohol when he was feeling manic,
because it seemed to prolong and intensify his eu
phoria. He also confessed that he had experimented
with cocaine.
I learned that his marriage, at the age of 23, had
helped balance his moods. Recently, however, his
wife had embarked on a part-time career, which had
changed the dynamic in their home, as they saw less
and less of each other. Frank began to spend even
more time at the office and on the road. He reluc
tantly confessed that he'd had a number of affairs.
He wasn't sure whether his wife knew, but it was
apparent that his behavior had affected their rela
tionship. According to Frank, he and his wife had
become like ships passing in the night. He admitted
that he longed for their previous intimacy.
Coaching a Manic-Depressive
Serious mood disorders like manic depression are
usually treated with a combination of psychotherapy
exercise. He seemed eager to oblige,
but when the results came back,
science (except for the occasional
feedback from a number of impor
theless, sociopaths and psychopaths
do exist, and they blend in very
easily. Both types are the product
(in particular, his subordinates) was
missing. I asked him to do something
about this, naming the people he
of genetic and environmental fac
should include.
As expected, the second report
historical tyrant or dictator). Never·
tors, though sociopaths are more
environmentally influenced while
psychopathic disorders tend to be
more hereditary and more danger
ous The bad news is that neither
tant people with whom he interacted
came back with sharply negative
comments: Arnold never acknowl
edged his mistakes and always
shifted responsibility for them to
type of disorder can be cured.
others. He broke promises and did
I've learned from experience
that psychopaths' and sociopaths'
not respect confidentiality. I let
him make his own interpretation
of the feedback, asking him how
relationships with coaches usually
take one of two forms. Individuals
with these dysfunctions will either
he experienced the information:
What surprised him? What was fair
try to enlist the coach as an ally
against the people who "forced"
and what was unfair? I knew that
them to undergo treatment or try to
impress the coach to gain some kind
avoid arguments and head-to-head
confrontations.
of advantage. In both cases they will
"mirror'' what you want them to be
with people like Arnold you have to
Despite my reservations, Arnold
and claim that they have seen the
managed to convince his bosses that
he had made progress, and they sent
error of their ways.
him to Southeast Asia to spearhead
When I met Arnold, a highflier at
a large consumer products company,
he seemed really on the ball. He was
good-looking, gregarious, and, not
Least, adept at sweet-talking me, but
his deferential manner didn't sit well
with me. I began by suggesting that
he undergo a 360-degree evaluation
the firm's expansion in that region.
A year later I read in the financial
press that the company had been
involved in a major bribery scan
dal. Arnold had initiated a kickback
operation in which he was one of the
major beneficiaries.
and medication. The problem is, manic-depressives
are rarely receptive to receiving treatment (and Frank
was no exception). Their reality testing is impaired:
Whether manic or depressed, they have poor insight
into how they are perceived by and act toward others.
Getting them to admit that they have a problem is
a main challenge. Here, the best approach is the op
posite of what you would do with narcissists: Make
manic-depressives confront the reality of their rela
tionships with others and work with the people they
affect to create a new structure in which they can op
erate safely. In this kind of situation a coach would
do well to draw on the help of others (in Frank's case,
his spouse and supporting executives).
Partners and family. I suggested to Frank that
it would be useful to meet his spouse-an atypical
April 2014
Harvard Business Review
105
COACHING THE TOXIC LEADER
you can more easily confront them with the truth
and work with them. Over six months I managed
to help Frank figure out how to restructure his job,
which helped him stabilize his mental state, both
at work and at home. At the end he began working
regularly again with a psychotherapist, and he has
since begun to take medication.
THE PASSIVE•AGGRESSIVE
coaching request. But given her role in helping Frank
stabilize his moods, I believed that it was essential to
have his wife as an ally. To get his approval, I said it
was important for me to know what her wishes and
goals were, since he needed to better understand
her perspective. After developing a working alliance
with both of them, I explored with Frank various sce
narios about how he saw himself in the future. What
did he really want? Where would he like to be? Who
would be a part of his life? Once Frank realized what
was happening to his relationship with his family, he
had an incentive to do something about his behavior.
Colleagues. At the same time, I talked to Frank's
executive team and a number of nonexecutive direc
tors about what they felt was particularly disruptive
about his behavior. Before I did, I got Frank's permis
sion, of course, explaining that I had to get a sense
of how he was perceived in the organization. At first
I talked to these stakeholders separately, but then I
brought Frank into the discussions. In these conver
sations he began to recognize that he needed to play a
different role in the company, one that got him away
from day-to-day activities, where his penchant for
micromanagement was causing stress. He decided
to appoint a chief operations officer to handle those
responsibilities. Frank recognized that his greatest
contributions came from his contacts with important
clients. That was where he should put his energy.
Even though they have trouble admitting it,
manic-depressives (unlike narcissists) are at some
level aware that they have a problem, which is why
106 Harvard Business Review April 2014
This term describes a person who expresses negative
feelings indirectly and shies away from confronta
tion. The behavior originates in families where the
honest, direct expression of desires is forbidden;
children quickly learn to repress their feelings and
are very reluctant to be assertive. They go through
life being outwardly accommodating but obstructive
in an underhanded way. What's more, their feelings
may be so repressed that they don't consciously real
ize that they're being uncooperative. So when oth
ers get upset by their behavior, they take offense, be
cause in their minds whatever caused the irritation
was someone else's fault.
How to Recognize the Condition
Though passive-aggressive executives overtly agree
to requests, they covertly express their resentment of
them by missing deadlines, showing up late for meet
ings, making excuses, or even undermining goals.
They tend to use procrastination, inefficiency, and
forgetfulness to avoid fulfilling obligations. Although
they can become dy sfunctional when pushed, if
they're not feeling pressured, they can produce high
quality work-which explains why some manage to
reach senior executive positions. They themselves
are usually the principal victims of their behavior.
Take Mary, who was referred to me by a senior ex
ecutive I had been working with for some time. He
told me that he thought she had a lot of potential but
somehow never delivered on that promise. Listening
to his lament, I realized that I might be dealing with a
passive-aggressive person, and my first meeting with
Mary confirmed my suspicion. I experienced her as
cold, passive, and even somewhat depressed.
When I asked about her colleagues and her boss,
she described them as unreasonable. Whether she
felt that she herself played a role in the poor chemis
try was not apparent. Indeed, when I asked her why
she was seeing me, she could not give a coherent
answer. The only thing she could come up with was
that her boss had told her it would be a good idea.
HBR.ORG
She didn't seem to realize (in spite of having gone
through a 360-degree feedback exercise) that others
were perturbed by her behavior.
Coaching a Passive-Aggressive
Passive-aggressives need to resolve their hostility
toward authority figures. To help them do that, the
coach has to encourage transference. By getting
Mary to see me as an authority figure, I would attract
her anger, which would allow me to work on help
ing her express it in a healthier, direct manner. This
work involved:
Consistent confrontation. Every time that Mary
was passive-aggressive with me I'd say something
like: "Mary, it seems to me that you are angry at me.
Is that what you are experiencing?" I would also
point out the inconsistencies in her behavior. Of
course, she would resort to denial or evasion-often
citing forgetfulness as an excuse when she hadn't
done what she was supposed to-but it became in
creasingly difficult for her to get away with it. I was
always careful, however, to accept her defensive
reactions for the time being. When dealing with
people like Mary, you should never argue or cor
rect denials; just quietly back away, leaving them to
reflect on your comments. Passive-aggressives see
arguments as an invitation to cast themselves as
victims, making you the bad guy, and they are very
experienced at it. By sharing my awareness of her
covert anger, I gave Mary the message that her style
was not the way to deal effectively with interper
sonal relationships.
Practicing better behavior. Passive-aggressives
have low self-esteem, and the coach has to help
them build it up. This is best done by getting them to
practice directness and asking them to explain how
they would resolve or improve situations they find
themselves in. In the beginning Mary would hem
and haw, but over time I persuaded her to stick her
neck out. I also assigned her specific tasks, putting
them in writing. If she didn't deliver, I expressed my
disappointment with her directly, factually, and un
emotionally. I would say that I was confused by her
behavior: Why did she keep doing what she was do
ing? Why not find a better way? Ifshe wanted to con
tinue our coaching sessions, such behavior needed
to stop. At the same time, I devoted a considerable
part of each session to acknowledging her strengths.
Exploring the family. Mary needed to recognize
the causal relationship between her tendency to
procrastinate and the resentment she felt toward
People often ask this question. and they
get various answers. Some claim that
the distinction lies in time orientation
that coaching focuses on the present
and the future while therapy looks more
at the past. Others draw a line between
the conscious (coaching) and the uncon
scious (therapy). Still others see psycho
therapy as a long-term treatment. and
coaching as a short-term intervention.
These all seem rather artificial
distinctions to me. It's fair, perhaps. to
say that psychotherapists have more
intensive training in personality dynam
ics, while executive coaches focus more
on the general work environment in
which executives operate. But it's my
conviction that therapists can benefit
from knowing more about the organi
zational world. and coaches without
training in psychology would do well to
acquire its basics. In my own work, when
appropriate. I often move from past to
present and from conscious to uncon
scious material. Both as a therapist and
as a coach, I've had some assignments
that were short and highly focused and
others that lasted for years.
the person making the request. Discussing her origi
nal family dynamics helped Mary understand why
she was the person she was; it quickly came out that
it had been very difficult for her to stand up to her
authoritarian father. The analysis of her childhood
April 2014 Harvard Business Review 107
COACHING THE TOXIC LEADER
led to a general discussion of the way she dealt with
authority figures-including me-and her frequent
anger toward them, which she gradually came to ac
knowledge. Some of our discussions also centered
on the way Mary dealt with her own family. We
explored how her style affected her children-and
what the consequences would be. After all, she
wanted them to be happy, and the way she was
treating them was no prescription for happiness.
Coaching passive-aggressives is exhausting.
They're irritating because they subtly show that
they feel a sense of accomplishment when they've
managed to frustrate you. It took a lot not to let
Mary get to me. But as time passed, she took the
first baby steps of trying to interact with people in a
different way. She would practice expressing her ir
ritation more directly and then report her successes
and failures back to me. And because she generally
liked the results, she gained the assurance to con
tinue down the right path. Eventually, I expressed
confidence that she could go on without my help.
Thereafter, I saw her a few times to check that she
had not fallen into her old habits.
•
THE EMOTIONALLY
DISCONNECTED
The previous cases deal with executives who may
be troublesome but can also be quite charismatic-
108 Harvard Business Review April 2014
the kind of people who don't leave you emotionally
untouched. But with the fourth type of pathology, a
lack of feeling rather than an excess of it gives rise to
difficulties.
The term psychiatrists use for these people is
alexithymia, which comes from the Greek and means
"no words for emotions." Alexithymics are literal
minded, display little imagination, and typically are
unable to describe or even recognize their feelings.
This inability makes it difficult for them to interpret
the many and often complex emotional signals they
receive from others, which they perceive as danger
ous, potentially uncontrollable forces.
That doesn't mean alexithymics cannot be suc
cessful, particularly within large, bureaucratic or
ganizations where playing safe, making the right
noises, predictability, and relative inconspicuous
ness are rewarded. But in other kinds of organiza
tions, they provide entirely the wrong role models
for others. Since alexithyrnics don't exude the dyna
mism, inspiration, or vision that a high-performing
organization needs, it's hard for them to motivate
others. Having poor communication skills and being
hard to read, they don't get the best out of people .
And because they have difficulty dealing with the
unpredictable, they may get in the way of progress.
Their emotional absence puts a negative stamp on
an organization's culture, discouraging creativity
and innovation.
How to Recognize the Condition
One executive-let's call him Robert-came to me
because he felt he was at a dead end in his firm. Until
recently, he had been quite successful in his career,
but after changing jobs he seemed to hit a wall. When
I asked about his new job, he mentioned that he felt
uncomfortable with its lack of structure. It wasn't
clear to him what he was expected to do; there was a
great fluidity in relationships and structures.
Robert had left a technical function in a govern
ment job to become the chief information officer of a
private company, a position that required consider
able interpersonal skills. Robert saw that he had dif
ficulties integrating himself with the executive team.
Not knowing what to do, he spoke with a colleague
in HR, who suggested that he try to work on his emo
tional intelligence-the reason he came to me.
At our first meeting, I was struck by the mechani
cal manner in which Robert answered my open
ended questions-always completely matter-of-fact.
From the way he talked about friends and family
HBR.ORG
members, I also inferred that he did not have any
Describing the pain. Once I'd built up Robert's
intimate relationships. When I asked how he saw confidence in the coaching process, I started getting
his future, his imagined scenario was devoid of any him to describe more-difficult encounters at work,
emotional content. His fantasy life and emotional pushing him to say which part of the experiences had
memory seemed impaired.
caused him pain. When distress bad manifested itself
When I asked how he felt under stress, he men physically, we developed a story about these symp
tioned stomach pains, muscle tension, and head toms-why they happened, what they represented,
aches, but was unable to articulate the correspond and how they fit within the chain of events described.
ing feelings. That's typical of alexithymics: They feel After many sessions, Robert began to recognize the
physically unwell rather than recognize emotional link between his symptoms and emotionally disturb
reactions. It was clear that Robert didn't understand ing events in his life. As we progressed, he displayed
why his body acted the way it did.
an increasing depth of feeling, and it dawned on him
Despite their physical complaints, you should that sharing it with others would be beneficial in his
resist any temptation to recommend medical inter work. He became more playful and less mechanical.
ventions to alexithymics. (Physicians, take note.) In
Other approaches can also work with alexithy·
Robert's case, his doctor (obviously at her wit's end) mies. I've found that group and family therapy
had sought to refer him to a psychiatrist or a psycho can help coachees learn to recognize, tolerate, and
therapist, but he had not chosen that option.
verbalize the emotional spectrum. It gives them a
chance to practice reflective self-observation. Be
Coaching the Emotionally
havioral techniques such as biofeedback, relaxation
Disconnected
training, autogenic training, guided imagery, and
Because alexithymics are not the most engaging cli hypnosis may also help. These techniques may give
ents, there's a risk that their coaches will get bored, people with the disorder a sense of control over
which may undermine their effectiveness. And there stressful responses, increasing their awareness of
is no direct medication for this disorder, although the relationship between bodily sensations and the
antidepressants can help people with it focus on events around them.
feelings and interpret inner experiences. With Rob
Like the Tin Man, who discovered that he bad a
ert, my goal was to gradually get him to recognize heart, alexithymic executives can learn to deal with
and react appropriately to emotions. Our engage emotions. When they do, the change in how they re
ment had two phases:
late to others goes a long way toward inspiring the
Fixing immediate problems. What works best for best from their people, raising morale, and making
me when dealing with people like Robert is first to their organizations more exciting places to work.
explore and find solutions to their immediate inter
personal problems. To build a trusting relationship SIGMUND FREUD once told the novelist Stefan Zweig
with Robert, therefore, I needed to help him become that all his life he had been "struggling with the
more effective in his day-to-day work environment, demon"-the demon of irrationality. Executives
and in our initial sessions I focused on this. When who fail to recognize their irrational side are like
I asked whether anything had recently happened ships facing an iceberg, forgetting that the greatest
at work that puzzled him, he mentioned the strange danger lies below the surface. Effective executives
behavior of his new assistant, who had suddenly know how to combine reflection with action by us
burst into tears in his office. When I pressed him ing self-insight as a restraining force when the sirens
on what he had felt when that happened, he said, of power beckon them. It is here that the executive
"Not much." It only gave him a headache. When I coach can help by pointing out the extent to which
asked what he'd done to stop his assistant from unconscious, seemingly irrational processes affect
crying, he said, "Nothing?' But he had asked her to behavior. (:,
HBR Reprint R1404H
return to her office. I asked whether it might have
executive coach, psychoanalyst/psychotherapist,
been more helpful to inquire what her problem t:::t An
and management scholar, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries
was-and if there was anything he could do to help is the Distinguished Professor of Leadership Development
her. He responded that he hadn't thought about it, and Organizational Change at lnsead in France, Singapore,
and Abu Dhabi. His most recent book is The Hedgehog
but if such a situation recurred, he would try to fol Effect:
The secrets of Building High Performance Teams
low my advice.
(John Wiley & Sons, 2011).
m
April 2014 Harvard Business Review 109
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Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons
by Michael Maccoby
The Harvard Business Review January-February, 2000
There’s something new and daring about the CEOs who are transforming today’s industries. Just
compare them with the executives who ran large companies in the 1950s through the 1980s. Those
executives shunned the press and had their comments carefully crafted by corporate PR
departments. But today’s CEOs—superstars such as Bill Gates, Andy Grove, Steve Jobs, Jeff
Bezos, and Jack Welch—hire their own publicists, write books, grant spontaneous interviews, and
actively promote their personal phi-losophies. Their faces adorn the covers of magazines like
Business Week, Time and The Economist. What’s more, the world’s business personalities are
increasingly seen as the makers and shapers of our public and personal agendas. They advise
schools on what kids should learn and lawmakers on how to invest the public’s money. We look to
them for thoughts on everything from the future of e-commerce to hot places to vacation.
There are many reasons why today’s business leaders have higher profiles than ever before. One
is that business plays a much bigger role in our lives than it used to, and its leaders are more often
in the limelight. Another is that the business world is experiencing enormous changes that call for
visionary and charismatic leadership. But my 25 years of consulting both as a psychoanalyst in
private practice and as an adviser to top managers suggest a third reason—namely, a pronounced
change in the personality of the strategic leaders at the top. As an anthropologist, I try to
understand people in the context in which they operate, and as a psychoanalyst, I tend to see them
through a distinctly Freudian lens. Given what I know, I believe that the larger-than-life leaders we
are seeing today closely resemble the personality type that Sigmund Freud dubbed narcissistic.
“People of this type impress others as being ‘personalities,’” he wrote, describing one of the
psychological types that clearly fall within the range of normality. “They are especially suited to act
as a support for others, to take on the role of leaders, and to give a fresh stimulus to cultural
development or damage the established state of affairs.”
Throughout history, narcissists have always emerged to inspire people and to shape the future.
When military, religious, and political arenas dominated society, it was figures such as Napoléon
Bonaparte, Mahatma Ghandi, or Franklin Delano Roosevelt who determined the social agenda. But
from time to time, when business became the engine of social change, it, too, generated its share
of narcissistic leaders. That was true at the beginning of this century, when men like Andrew
Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford exploited new technologies and
restructured American industry. And I think it is true again today.
But Freud recognized that there is a darker side to narcissism. Narcissists, he pointed out, are
emotionally isolated and highly distrustful. Perceived threats can trigger rage. Achievements can
feed feelings of grandiosity. That’s why Freud thought narcissists were the hardest personality
types to analyze. Consider how an executive at Oracle described his narcissistic CEO Larry
Ellison: “The difference between God and Larry is that God does not believe he is Larry.” That
observation is amusing, but it is also troubling. Not surprisingly, most people still think of narcissists
in a primarily negative way. After all, Freud named the type after the mythical figure Narcissus,
who died because of his pathological preoccupation with himself.
Yet narcissism can be extraordinarily useful—even necessary. Freud shifted his views about
narcissism over time and recognized that we are all somewhat narcissistic. More recently,
psychoanalyst Heinz Kohut built on Freud’s theories and developed methods of treating narcissists.
Of course, only professional clinicians are trained to tell if narcissism is normal or pathological. In
this article, I discuss the differences between productive and unproductive narcissism but do not
explore the extreme pathology of borderline conditions and psychosis.
Leaders such as Jack Welch or George Soros are examples of productive narcissists. They are
gifted and creative strategists who see the big picture and find meaning in the risky proposition of
changing the world and leaving behind a legacy. Indeed, one reason we look to 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 schemes and harbor the
illusion that only circumstances or enemies block their success. This tendency toward grandiosity
and distrust is the Achilles’ heel of narcissism. Because of it, even brilliant narcissists can come
under suspicion for self–involvement, unpredictability and—in extreme cases—paranoia.
It’s easy to see why narcissistic leadership doesn’t always mean successful leadership. Consider
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 Chaplin’s Modern Times. His wildly poplular vision called for team-based
craftsmanship. Model factories were built and publicized to international acclaim. But his success
in pushing through these dramatic changes also sowed the seeds for his downfall. Gyllenhammar
started to feel he could ignore the concerns of his operational managers. He pursued chancy and
expensive new business deals, which he publicized on television and in the press. On one level, you
can ascribe Gyllenhammar’s falling our of touch with his workforce simply to faulty strategy. But it
is also possible to attribute it to his narcissistic personality. His overestimation of himself led him to
believe that others would want him to be the czar of a multinational enterprise. In turn, these
fantasies led him to pursue a merger with Renault, which was tremendously unpopular with
Swedish employees. Because Gyllenhammar was deaf to complaints about Renault, Swedish
managers were forced to take their case public. In the end, shareholders aggressively rejected
Gyllenhammar’s plan, leaving him with no option but to resign.
Given the large number of narcissists at the helm of corporations today, the challenge facing
organizations is to ensure that such leaders do not self-destruct or lead the company to disaster.
That can take some doing because it is very hard for narcissists to work through their issues—and
virtually impossible for them to do it alone. Narcissists need colleagues and even therapists if they
hope to break free from their limitations. But because of their extreme independence and
self-protectiveness, it is very difficult to get near them. Kohut maintained that a therapist would
have to demonstrate an extraordinarily profound empathic understanding and sympathy for the
narcissist’s feelings in order to gain his trust. On top of that, narcissists must recognize that they
can benefit from such help. For their part, employees must learn how to recognize—and work
around—narcissistic bosses. To help them in this endeavor, let’s first take a closer look at Freud’s
theory of personality types.
Three Main Personality Types
While Freud recognized that there are an almost infinite variety of personalities, he identified three
main types: erotic, obsessive, and narcissistic. Most of us have elements of all three. We are all, for
example, 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 differently to success and failure.
Freud’s definitions of these three personality types differed over time. When talking about the
erotic personality type, however, he generally did not mean sexual personality but rather one for
whom loving and above all being loved is most important. This type of individual is dependent on
those people they fear will stop loving them. Many erotics are teachers, nurses, and social workers.
At their most productive, they are developers of the young as well as enablers and helpers at work.
As managers, they are caring and supportive, but they avoid conflict and make people dependent
on them. They are, according to Freud, outer directed people.
Obsessives, in contrast, are “inner directed.” They are self-reliant and conscientious. They create
and maintain order and make the most effective operational managers. They look constantly for
ways to help people listen better, resolve conflict, and find win-win opportunities. They buy
self-improvement books such as Steven Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Obsessives are also ruled by a strict conscience—they like to focus on continuous improvement at
work because it fits in with their sense of moral improvement. As entrepreneurs, obsessives start
businesses that express their values, but they lack the vision, daring, and charisma it takes to turn a
good idea into a great one. The best obsessives set high standards and communicate very
effectively. They make sure that instructions are followed and costs are kept within budget. The
most productive are great mentors and team players. The unproductive and the uncooperative
become narrow experts and rule-bound bureaucrats.
Narcissists, the third type, are independent and not easily impressed. They are the innovators,
driven in business to gain power and glory. Productive narcissists are experts in their industries, but
they go beyond it. They also pose the critical questions. They want to learn everything about
everything that affects the company and its products. Unlike erotics, they want to be admired, not
loved. And unlike obsessives, they are not troubled by a punishing superego, so they are able to be
very aggressive in pursuit of their goals. Of all the personality types, narcissists run the greatest
risk of isolating themselves at the moment of success. And because of their independence and
aggressiveness, they are constantly looking out for enemies, sometimes degenerating into paranoia
when they are under extreme stress. (For more on personality types, see “Fromm’s Fourth
Personality Type.”)
Strengths of the Narcissistic Leader
When it comes to leadership, personality type can be instructive. Erotic personalities typically make
poor managers—they need too much approval. Obsessives make better leaders—they are your
operational managers: critical and cautious. But it is narcissists who come closest to our collective
image of great leaders. There are two reasons for this: they have compelling, even gripping, visions
for companies and they have an ability to attract followers.
Great Vision. I once asked a group of managers to define a leader."“A person with vision ” was a
typical response. Productive narcissists understand the vision thing particularly well, largely
because they are by nature people who see the big picture. They are not analyzers who can break
up big questions into manageable problems; they aren’t number crunchers either (these are
typically the obsessives). Nor do they try to extrapolate to understand the future—they attempt to
create it. To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, some people see things as they are and ask why;
narcissists see things that never were and ask why not.
Consider the difference between Bob Allen, a productive obsessive, and Mike Armstrong, a
productive narcissist. In 1997, Allen tried to expand AT&T to reestablish the end-to-end service of
the Bell System by reselling local service from the regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs).
Although this was a worthwhile endeavor for shareholders and customers, it was hardly
earth-shattering. By contrast, through a strategy of combining voice, telecommunications and
Internet access by high-speed broadband telecommunication over cable, Mike Armstrong has
“created a new space with his name on it,” as one colleague has put. Armstrong is betting that his
costly strategy will beat out the RBOC’s less expensive solution of digital subscriber lines over
copper wire. This example illustrates the different approaches of obsessives and narcissists. The
risk Armstrong took is one that few obsessives would feel comfortable with. His vision is
galvanizing AT&T. Who but a narcissistic leader could achieve such a thing? As Napoléon—a
classic narcissist—once remarked, “Revolutions are ideal times for soldiers with a lot of wit—and
the courage to act. ”
And as in the days of the French Revolution, the world is now changing in astounding ways;
narcissists have opportunities they would never have in ordinary times. In short, today’s narcissistic
leader is getting the chance to change the very rules of the game. Consider Robert B. Shapiro,
CEO of Monsanto. Shapiro described his vision of genetically modifying crops as “the single most
successful introduction of agriculture, including the plow” (New York Times, August 5, 1999). This
is certainly a huge claim—there are still many unanswered questions about the safety and public
acceptance of genetically engineered fruits and vegetables. But industries like agriculture are
desperate for radical change. If Shapiro’s gamble is successful, the industry will be transformed in
the image of Monsanto. That’s why he can get away with painting a picture of Monsanto as a
highly profitable “life sciences” company—despite the fact that Monsanto’s stock has fallen 12%
from 1998 to the end of the third quarter of 1999. [During the same period, the S&P was up 41%.]
Unlike Armstrong and Shapiro, it was enough for Bob Allen to win against his competitors in a
game measured primarily by the stock market. But narcissistic leaders are after something more.
They want—and need—to leave behind a legacy.
Scores of Followers. Narcissists have vision—but that’s not enough. People in mental hospitals
also have visions. The simplest definition of a leader is someone whom other people will follow.
Indeed, narcissists are especially gifted in attracting followers, and more often than not, they do so
through language. Narcissists believe that words can move mountains and that inspiring speeches
can change people. Narcissistic leaders are often skollful orators, and this is one of the talents that
makes them so charismatic. Indeed, anyone who has seen narcissists perform can attest to their
personal magnetism and their ability to stir enthusiasm among audiences.
Yet, this charismatic gift is more of a two-way affair than most people would think. Although it is
not always obvious, narcissistic leaders are in fact quite dependent on their followers. A narcissist
needs affirmation and preferably adulation from his admirers. Think of Winston Churchill’s
wartime broadcasts or JFK’s “Ask not what your country can do for you” inaugural address. The
adulation that followed from such speeches bolsters the self-confidence and conviction of the
speakers. But if no one responds, the narcissist usually becomes insecure, overly shrill, and
insistent—just as we saw with Ross Perot.
Even when people respond positively to a narcissist, there are dangers. That’s because charisma is
a double-edged sword—it fosters both closeness and isolation. As he becomes increasingly
self-assured, the narcissist becomes more spontaneous. He feels free of constraints. Ideas flow.
He thinks he’s invincible. This energy and confidence further inspires his followers. But the very
adulation that narcissist demands can have a corrosive effect. As he expands, he listens even less
to words of caution and advice. After all, he has been right before, when others had their doubts.
Rather than try to persuade those who disagree with him, he feels justified in ignoring
them—further creating a sense of isolation. The result is sometimes flagrant risk taking that can
lead to catastrophe. In the political realm, it would be hard to find a clearer example of this than Bill
Clinton.
Weaknesses of the Narcissistic Leader
Despite the warm feelings that charisma can evoke, narcissists are typically not comfortable with
their own emotions. They listen only for the kind of information they seek. They don’t learn easily
from others. They don’t like to teach but prefer to indoctrinate and make speeches. They dominate
meetings with subordinates. The result for the organization is greater internal competitiveness at a
time when everyone is already under as much pressure as they can possibly stand. Perhaps the
main problem is that the narcissist’s faults tend to become even more pronounced as he becomes
more successful.
Sensitive to Criticism. Because they are extraordinarily sensitive, narcissistic leaders shun
emotions as a whole. Indeed, perhaps one of the greatest paradoxes in this age of teamwork and
partnering...
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