Narcissistic Leadership: The Pros and Cons

Abstract 

The behaviors and personalities of people vary significantly. This is due to various factors such as environment, the difference in upbringing, as well as genetic makeup. As a result, leadership styles exhibited by the multiple leaders vary too. Their drive for success and personal achievements result in leadership stands that are aimed at coming up with positive results. This paper focuses on two styles of leadership-narcissistic and covenant styles. Each of these styles is defined and discussed accordingly with their traits. Besides, the comparison of narcissistic and covenant leader are indicated with in-depth analysis. Based on the characteristics of the leaders possessing each of these styles, the paper tries to point out their different impacts on the organization. 

Consequently, the paper uses the analysis to come up with a preferable style that fits the organization. Also, the article will present an organizational plan which is comprehensive to introduce the covenant style of leadership. In this case, the organization in focus is the large city police force. The leadership background for this police force is the narcissistic leadership style. This project has the aim of enhancing an understanding of the traits and qualities of narcissistic and covenant leaders as well as informing their difference to facilitate the introduction of change into the large city police force. 

Introduction 

Narcissism is derived from a Greek myth. The myth was described by Steiner (1981) and is about a young man known as Narcissus. Narcissus was very much in love with a reflection of himself in a stream of water such that he did not want to drink water from the stream as it would disturb his image. At the same time, there is nymph who is in love with him, known as Echo. Echo’s death was as a result of her being rejected. Hence her passion goes unanswered. Also, Narcissus dies because he does not want to leave the stream where he always wants to see his reflection and could not drink from this stream. Therefore, this applies to a leader who is a narcissist. Such a leader is always obsessed with his position and power to maintain his self-glory and self-esteem. 

God is the best example of a covenant leader. When we take into consideration of such people like Abraham, Moses, Sarah, Noah, and Hannah, God made covenants with them. God also made a covenant with humankind through Jesus Christ, His son. This style of leadership is characterized by the creation of a relationship with the people. It involves giving and putting them first in any situation. 

Narcissistic Leadership 

A narcissistic personality is linked with individuals who are always attention-seekers and would like to be in control of everything. Notwithstanding it being considered by some as a bad personality trait, it also has some benefits. People having this trait have a sense of envy, superiority, self-absorption, and grandiosity (Ronningstam, 2012, p. 47). Besides, they have mood instability, exhibitionism, and are exploitative. Pathological narcissism is evidenced by vulnerability and grandiosity of the person. Such an individual has poor inter-personal behaviors, which include inflated self-esteem, interpersonal problems, and arrogant attitudes. Also, people possessing this trait have dysfunctional issues like suppressing pathology, self-esteem concerns, and emotional instability. Most narcissistic leaders become more and more narcissistic as they achieve more power and authority ("Who is a Workplace Narcissist?," n.d., p. 25). Adolf Hitler is a good example here. He was a charismatic leader who became power hungry as his authority increased. The Bible warns against narcissism. 

In the book of Second Timothy, the Bible points out that there will be times of difficulty in the last days. It states that people will turn into lovers of money and self. Besides, they will be abusive, arrogant, unholy, unappeasable, brutal, ungrateful, not loving a good, and lovers of pleasure instead of God. All these are the character traits of narcissistic people. They are interested more in themselves and will everything to ensure that they remain relevant. However, the Bible discourages such behaviors since they may lead to hate and hostility between people. 

There have been numerous leaders in history who were narcissistic. Apart from Adolf Hitler, some of the well-known narcissistic leaders include Mahatma Gandhi, Napoleon, as well as Franklin Delano. In the business world, leaders such as John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison were known for their narcissistic style. Larry Ellison’s sediments as the executive at Oracle stirred a lot of criticisms. He claimed that the main difference between him and God is because God does not believe in him. Such a statement was enough to paint a picture of a leader who is a staunch narcissist. He equated himself with God by saying that he is omniscient and omnipotent-terms that are used to describe the nature of God. 

There is a concern on the image when it comes to the obsession of a narcissist. They do not consider substance as such; hence, they are cut off from reality. According to clinical narcissism, there is an issue of dysfunctional self-obsessions ("Narcissistic Personality Disorder," 2016, p. 13). This condition is categorized in DSM-4 as a distinct personality syndrome. This problem relates to DSM-5 on mental complications. 

The character traits of clinical narcissism highlighted by Emmerson are many. They include: a clinical narcissist is characterized by his/her limitless craving for reputation, admiration, as well as applause which express themselves in practices that command the center of attention. Besides, they have appearance and image fixation which outdo and can preclude regard for substance and reality. Another character trait associated with clinical narcissism is the dream for unlimited power, brilliance, and success (Nevicka, 2018, p. 69). These dreams are enacted with the combination of pride and envy, with the urge of commanding respect from others. Also, clinical narcissism is characterized by a sense of self-dominance and importance, resulting in an expression of arrogance. Another character trait is the tendency to exploit other people because of the heightened sense of power. A clinical narcissist justifies his/her intentions with the belief that the social rules that apply to other people do not apply to him/her (Pan & Yu, 2017, p. 43). As a result, one feels that he/she deserves favorable attention and treatment; and that others must follow suit according to one’s wishes. There is a lack of consciousness for other people and the impact of the behaviors about the rest (Germain, 2017, p. 62). Consequently, there is always a solid defense in accepting any responsibility for the negative actions committed by oneself. A clinical narcissist will never accept the obligation but will always find someone else to associate with the problem. 

In spite of the many weaknesses of the narcissistic leaders, they have achieved success in many areas. Riggio (2011) states that such leaders have high achievement drive and have the makings of self-assurance and confidence. Their only requirement is for them to gain balance that will keep them active and avoid becoming destructive and evil. Since they are persistent and always driven by the pursuit of goals, they can ever get good results. Most of the successful narcissistic leaders have always had a trusted sidekick or partner who helps them gain balance. The examples cited in this case include such individuals as Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, Oracles’ Larry Ellison and Ray Lane. Narcissistic leaders have the spirited drive for success and are gifted. Since they are great risk takers, they are people in the society who achieve new levels of change in society. 

However, one of the negatives of narcissistic leaders is the way they pursue success. While they try to come up with results, by all means, they may end up being cruel, showing unfriendly feelings to co-workers, as well as the making of collateral damages ("Behavior and Demands of the Workplace Narcissist," n.d., p. 18). They are too sensitive to criticism and do not have empathy. Risk taking may be risky since if their visions and dreams end up being impractical, they may end up being frustrated since they lack restraint and self-knowledge to control them. 

Covenant leadership 

According to Moisan (2004), leadership involves a relationship between the followers and their leaders. Leadership is not about the captivation of friends or exerting powers; it is not headship also. The main idea here is that there has to be a covenant between the workers and the management as well as the co-workers; with each assigned responsibilities and duties towards each other. 

A covenant entails a relationship that is based on obligation, values, respect, and mutual trust whereby two or more people are bound together by a shared moral purpose (Bame, 2017, p. 115). Such purpose is very significant and is bigger than any individual, and is the source of meaning and hope for those who share it. 

Some of the main traits of covenant leaders are that they are not arrogant; they give credit to others, as well as always looking for ways to build others up. This kind of leadership has a biblical concept in which respective responsibilities and duties for each group in a relationship are fundamental. In the book of Psalm 105:8, we learn that God’s covenant runs for a thousand generations. This insists on the significance of our relationships and that we should retain and honor them. Our application of morals and integrity are essential since they are the promises that we make. 

Impacts of narcissistic and covenant leadership on the organization 

A narcissistic leader may bring a feeling of “us against them” in the whole organization. The police will get a feeling that it is them against the people due to narcissistic leadership. This feeling is not among the police alone but also line managers and other employees in the department. The line employees and the middle management working under a narcissist leader will not be at liberty in expressing their individual feelings due to the fact that their leader demands them to comply with his/her guidelines and beliefs (Pan & Yu, 2017, p. 51). Therefore, an unhealthy relationship and lack of trust between the management, co-workers, and workers are the order of the day. 

On the other hand, covenant leadership creates a healthy environment for all. Employees have a higher level of satisfaction and a high level of confidence at the place of work. Moisan (2004) gives the benefits of covenant leadership as all employees are encouraged on the common good; a community of mutual responsibility is built; mutual relationships and success are fostered; support of the principles of the organization and liberty of each employee; organizational mission, vision, and ambition drives the workers and management; there is a focus on sharing and generosity; there is accommodation of interests of each; employee motivation and loyalty is promoted; appreciation of each is favored; finally, there is creation of emotional affection, collaboration, as well as bettering the social support. 

Hammond (2013) points out that covenant is not only about the relationship of two people, but it comprises of the agreement which will compromise a working relationship that in turn is built in many scopes. Besides, it will include the creation of a bond between the police force as well as the community, the city government and the police force, and most likely between the police force and the moral commitment to the society (Jogulu, 2010, p. 719). These contrast entirely with the traits of narcissistic leadership in which there is always doubt, self-interest, rules and restrictions, undesirable assumptions, emotional distance, impartiality, reduced social support, as well as self-recognition. 

Covenant leadership development plan 

The first thing for one to take into consideration when beginning a relationship is the building of the covenant of which it will not be a fast project. A person needs to be very honest while building on such covenants, specifically on rage, negative emotions, doubts, fear, as well as disbelief (Fairhurst, 2005, p. 172). Such states of isolation, susceptibility, as well as brokenness, are the ones that enable us to accept the idea of new relationship building. This is also applicable to the covenants on the relationship building with God. 

The development of a department that is steered by a covenant will involve enhancing an acceptance by the community by building a covenant-steered relationship between the department and the community. The establishing of the community relationship is a way of involving an organization and the people into one functional collectivity which make every effort towards compatible and universal goals. This system of community building by the police department can be done through a system known as community policing. 

By bringing in a new chief of police with the traits of covenant leadership into a large police department whereby the outgoing chief was a narcissist might not be easy for the new boss. The reason why the new chief will face tough times is that the narcissistic ideas had already spread into the other police departments and sections. Those who had already adopted the narcissistic style had already gained power and control over the junior staff. Another challenge is that the covenant leadership style involves the building of relationships within the police force. 

As a result, the new chief of police will have to take a considerable amount of time in building a good relationship with the rest of the workers and co-workers. However, he might face a lot of difficulties especially due to the diverse management groupings that include departmental and shift management in which management crews will rotate under various leaders. Therefore, this leads to difficulties in relationship creation for the covenant leader. Finally, the chain of commands and the strict rules which are linked with the larger police department discourages covenant leaders. The guidelines on promotion favor narcissist leaders in most cases. 

Leaving the message is the greatest aspect of change. In spite of the challenges faced by the relationship-building officers, it is good to keep faith in the plan to ensure those good relationships are built in the long run. The primary programs should encourage relationship building within each department for community policing. Community policing is very important as it will give room for mobile management as well as giving officers more authority when it comes to decision-making. This move may end up being the start of a positive change to the police force. It may involve doing such things as holding strategic meetings together with the leaders of the police departments and sharing of different information with them (Fields, n.d., p. 365). Other actions may include presenting education materials as well as appreciating the efforts within the different commands. 

After evaluating the leadership of all the middle and upper management, personnel moves and transfers should be attempted to give help and sidekick to the narcissistic leaders. Doing so will ensure that these leaders are given the required support for their weaknesses and strengths to keep them in control. Besides, I appreciate the fact that narcissistic leaders give positive results when controlled. Therefore, try to build good relationships in departments where narcissism is most predominant. Here, try to create an environment where there are openness and transparency. Then ensure that you prioritize ethics among all the officers. 

The other changes which might include making visits to the line officers and officers at the lower levels and showing concerns to their needs. The officers who have done exceptional jobs should be accorded with rewards and attention. Using social media may also help in creating a healthy relationship with the community. 

One of the major points to note is that all these changes will take a long time and that not everybody will accept the change. Besides, policy regulations and the chains of command should be part of the relationship building. However, ethical standards should be adhered to at all costs (Tang Xiao Bing, 2015, p. 218). If those who are in the police force realize how good the covenant leadership is, they may follow the steps of the new police chief and the changes will take a shorter period as expected. However, most of the departments may hesitate as they may fear the changes from one style of leadership to the other. 

Conclusion 

Leadership styles vary, and there is no clarity on which style may work best for a given situation or to an individual. However, it is obvious that when a narcissistic leader is controlled, it has proven success history but may be a disaster when things do not go as planned. On the other hand, a covenant leader has to build relationships with others as well as have a clear vision and mission statement. This style is favorable to the followers and to individuals who are fond of relationship building, hence posing a real challenge to the organization. The most important aspect of both styles is ethics and honesty, which may not go well with narcissist leaders at a particular point. 

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