Narcissism And Leadership: A Review And Research Agenda
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CPL_WP_06_04_Rosenthal.pdf
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110.68 KB
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Author(s)
Rosenthal, Seth A.
Date Issued
January 4, 2006
Publisher
Center for Public Leadership
Series/Report no.
Center for Public Leadership Working Paper Series;06-04
Abstract
It is clear that a significant number of world leaders have rigidly grandiose belief systems and leadership
styles. Often, the authors who recount the “psychohistories” of these leaders connect both the leaders’
assent to power, and their ultimate (and seemingly inevitable) downfall, to their narcissistic grandiosity.
While not every author employs the term “narcissism” to describe the leader in question, across the board
they reliably depict individuals whose aspirations, judgments, and decisions, both good and bad, are driven
by unyielding arrogance and self-absorption. The pantheon of purportedly narcissistic leaders ranges
from the great tyrants of recent history including Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein (Glad, 2002), to
lesser-known malevolent leaders like the founder of the American Nazi Party, George Lincoln Rockwell
(Miliora, 1995) and cult leader Jim Jones (Zee, 1980), great historical figures such as Alexander Hamilton
(Chernow, 2004), business leaders of all stripes including Steve Jobs (Robins & Paulhus, 2001), Michael
Eisner (Sankowsky, 1995), David Geffen (Kramer, 2003), and Kenneth Lay (Kramer, 2003), and an eclectic
and sometimes surprising list of current political leaders such as Benjamin Netanyahu (Kimhi, 2001),
John McCain (Renshon, 2001), George W. Bush (Krugman, 2005; Suskind, 2004), and both Jimmy
Carter and his mother, Lillian (Glad & Whitmore, 1991).
Subjects
hks
cpl
kennedy school
leadership
narcissism
superior
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