![]() The study goes by the similar broad definition of narcissism, characterizing it with undesirable traits – “an inflated sense of self-importance, an excessive need for attention and admiration, and lack of empathy” – but also some “possibly acceptable” ones – “self-confidence, risk tolerance, a focus on goal achievement, and more extraverted personalities.” The article also insists that the concept of narcissism is vague, considering “the difficulty in distinguishing between narcissistic and self-confident leaders.” Finally, it throws an eye-poke by quoting a finding that narcissistic CEOs are more common in socially conscious enterprises. Meanwhile, Forbes, obviously a more business-friendly publication, wrote an article around the same time (and as though in response) summarising a study of narcissistic CEOs by Stanford University (coincidentally, René Girard’s academic home of many years). It ends by advising its readers to learn how to survive in the unfair and sexist system that tolerates these brash and reckless frauds. Last fall’s article from BBC talks about how narcissists, “these self-centred, over-confident people” are unfortunately “29% faster in their career progression to the position of CEO.” It describes narcissistic CEOs as a danger to society, villains that steal the bread out of the mouths of “hardworking-but-humble workers” and run their companies into the ground. The debate was about how common are narcissistic traits among CEOs and other types of leaders, and how bad of a thing is that?Ī search on your news aggregator will reveal that the media still loves to chew on the topic. Several years ago I was first exposed to the public discussion of narcissism in the business world. But first, let’s put narcissism into perspective. ![]() I found it so enlightening and useful that I often feel compelled to share it with others. ![]() One of my favourite intellectual performances by René Girard was his takedown of the popular understanding of narcissism.
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