For narcissistic managers, it's all about them, not their workers. Anna Koldunova/Shutterstock
Relationships at work matter enormously to our well-being, and maybe no work relationship impacts us extra strongly than the one we’ve got with our supervisor. In truth, individuals who go away their job regularly report that their supervisor is their most necessary purpose for doing so.
Managers’ narcissistic tendencies are sometimes a key concern that troubles their relationship with their workers. Although narcissists are inclined to make a very good first impression, their true nature unfolds over time and divulges that they care above all about themselves, not about others.
Our latest research present that narcissistic managers are poorly outfitted to develop good, sustainable relationships with others as a result of their egocentric behaviour and disrespect for others erodes what’s the foundation of all good relationships – belief.
My fellow researchers and I due to this fact puzzled: Could some narcissistic managers develop the flexibility to camouflage their lack of concern for others and make others belief them by creating the impression that they care?
How do narcissistic managers erode others’ belief in them?
Narcissistic people show a variety of self-centered traits, together with selfishness, entitlement, conceitedness and the exploition of individuals for private acquire. They take into account themselves as extra necessary, proficient, and enticing than others, however they’re additionally insecure about themselves and have a robust must be admired. Narcissists thus concurrently crave different individuals’s reaffirmation and validation of their inflated self-image, and really feel entitled to consideration and admiration.
This duality of craving and feeling entitled to admiration leads narcissistic people to contemplate themselves born to be leaders and to really feel entitled to management positions, positions wherein they could be seen and admired. Unfortunately, we are inclined to interpret a narcissistic particular person’s overconfidence as a sign that they’re, in reality, competent and that they’d make a very good chief. So narcissists’ aspiration for management positions mixed with the nice first impressions that they make may cause them to rise in hierarchies, which leads to narcissistic traits being comparatively frequent amongst managers.
Although narcissistic people could make a very good impression initially, they are often ill-suited to management positions, as a result of efficient management requires creating collaborative, reciprocal, trusting relationships with others. Instead, as our analysis constantly finds, narcissistic managers are thought of much less reliable by those that work for them. This is as a result of creating belief requires integrity and caring about others, neither of which come pure to narcissistic people.
In truth, narcissistic managers are more likely to put their very own pursuits forward of these of others and will even step on others when doing so is required to attain private acquire. Consequently, as our research confirmed, a narcissistic, untrustworthy supervisor will make individuals really feel unsafe to take dangers, make errors, and categorical themselves overtly.
Is it simple to identify a narcissist?
Because the results of narcissistic leaders are more likely to come out and their true nature could also be revealed over time, it’s tempting to assume that we may simply detect a narcissistic supervisor. If that is the case, we could merely – by choice checks in organizational recruitments, for instance – attempt to detect them and be certain that they’re not chosen for management positions.
Such efforts actually maintain benefit, as narcissistic people are sometimes not shy about admitting that they wish to be admired and even that they overlook the pursuits of others. Indeed, normally, narcissists don’t current themselves as agreeable or modest. However, narcissists aren’t incompetent they usually have the potential to study that they could be much more efficient achieve their egocentric objectives in the event that they current themselves in a socially acceptable method or, in different phrases, in the event that they camouflage their lack of care and fly beneath the radar.
A constant discovering in our research is that some narcissistic managers interact in strategies to handle the impression that others have of them – they actively search to behave in ways in which makes them seem honest to others. Moreover, our findings point out that these impression-management strategies will be profitable: workers understand extremely narcissistic managers that attempt to make themselves seem honest as extra reliable than their extremely narcissistic counterparts who don’t interact on this impression administration behaviour and, due to this, their workers really feel safer to precise themselves overtly. In a nutshell, they’ll faux that they care and achieve success in doing so.
What would possibly this faux caring seem like?
When somebody behaves in a method that appears caring, it may be troublesome to inform whether or not or not they’re faking it. Fortunately, there could also be some indicators. In common, the truth that narcissistic people must learn to give others the impression that they care, signifies that they can not depend on spontaneous behaviour and responses. This signifies that their seemingly honest behaviour is more likely to seem awkward or scripted. For instance:
Someone who is really caring is more likely to spontaneously ask you the way you’re doing, and is probably going to pay attention to what’s going on in your life. In distinction, an individual who does not likely care is much less more likely to ask you spontaneously. Instead, it might be that they solely ever ask how you’re after you may have simply requested them. It may merely be that your query reminded them to precise caring about you in return. Moreover, they could be unlikely to ask follow-up questions after having proven their superficially caring behaviour. After all, they don’t seem to be actually all for you.
Someone who is really caring is more likely to pay attention and be extra empathic. In distinction, if you end up telling a narrative about your individual expertise and the expertise abruptly seems to be about them, their seemingly empathic response to your story could be solely a possibility for them to inform a narrative about themselves. Similarly, it’s doable that their response to your story just isn’t empathic in any respect, stays superficial, and solely sticks to the info.
At the identical time, nevertheless, in the event that they solely allow you to discuss and by no means share or relate to what you’re saying, it could be that they’ve made you imagine that they’re all for you however that they don’t truly care. Someone who’s caring and reliable is more likely to categorical belief in you as effectively – for instance, by sharing about their very own life – as a result of reliable persons are more likely to see relationships as a two-way avenue.
Most individuals have a pure inclination to belief others who present indicators of caring, so we’re susceptible to the belief that narcissists have good intentions, particularly these narcissists who interact in additional effort to seem honest. Some consciousness of this impact and the methods wherein we would acknowledge faux caring is useful to guard well-intentioned individuals from being exploited and manipulated.
Melvyn R.W. Hamstra doesn’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or group that will profit from this text, and has disclosed no related affiliations past their tutorial appointment.
