dearJulius.com

Here's how to tell within 5 minutes if your boss is really a narcissist

© Getty Images   Colorful \

By Marcel Schwantes, Inc.

Most leaders are actually narcissists, which can backfire. Is yours?

In my former life as a talent manager, I was tasked with conducting exit interviews to discover the reasons people were quitting their jobs at one particular creative agency.

As I looked at the turnover trends in my report, "Reason No. 5" pointed back to the CEO. While he was a brilliant visionary with an impressive executive background, he was a lousy leader with the classic features of narcissism, as described by former employees.

We see egomaniacs everywhere now--placed in positions of power and influence by company owners and boards who reward the wrong people for privileged roles.

In his phenomenal new book, Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (And How to Fix It), Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic explains how the features we normally associate with desirable leadership traits--like confidence and charisma--can later become narcissism and even psychopathy and backfire.


How to spot narcissists

In a recent episode of the Love in Action podcast, I asked Chamorro-Premuzic to share with me how anyone can recognize when he or she is working for a boss with narcissist tendencies.

More specifically, here's how you'll know in a matter of minutes whether you're working with, or for, a narcissist:


1. They often crave validation.

Narcissists are known for having high self-esteem and a superiority complex, yet they suffer from a fragile ego derived from their own inner insecurity. Put it all together, and you'll be working with or for a person who often craves validation and recognition from others. This shouldn't come as a surprise. "If you are constantly showing off," says Chamorro-Premuzic, "you are probably desperate for others' admiration," which is rarely the case with humble people.


2. They are self-centered.

Narcissists are less interested in other people--their ideas, insights, feedback, or suggestions--because they have an empathy deficit. Don't expect any trace of genuine consideration for others, only for themselves. Furthermore, a high-level leader's narcissism can be detected by the "size and attractiveness of their corporate profile picture, the number of times they are mentioned in their organization's brochures and press releases, and the frequency with which they use the word 'I' and other self-referential pronouns," says Chamorro-Premuzic.


3. They expect special privileges.

Narcissists feel entitled to certain privileges that their peers may not have, and for which they justify exploitative behavior to get. They may think or say: "Do I really need to apply for a promotion?" "Do I need to wait in line?" Chamorro-Premuzic explains that when you think you're better than those you work with, "you perceive unfairness where there is none and behave in demeaning and condescending ways toward people."


4. They blame others for their mistakes.

Since narcissists have a fierce resistance against negative feedback, they are quick to cast blame grenades at other people when issues should be pointing back at them. When their ears are open to critical feedback, expect an aggressive reaction, because narcissists retaliate rather than use the feedback to improve. "To make matters worse, these tendencies are exacerbated by narcissists' impulsive nature," says Chamorro-Premuzic. He adds that because of their poor self-control, "narcissists have trouble sustaining any development or self-improvement initiative."

In conclusion, while a narcissist is more likely to become a leader because of traits we identify as successful for the job (charisma and confidence), those very traits will evolve into their darker counterparts--overconfidence, narcissism, and psychopathy--which will get the person fired.

|Featured Content_$type=three$c=3$l=0$m=0$s=hide$rm=0


A Part of Julius LLC
Made with in NYC by Julius Choudhury
Name

Balance Work & Life,64,Be a Better Manager,32,Break Room,12,Burnout,1,Business Skills,124,Career Advice,307,Career Care,1,Career Choice,181,Career Growth,361,Career Paths,24,Career Problem,8,Career Tips,90,Education,129,Entrepreneurship,56,Featured,81,Features,469,Finance,13,Freelancing,3,Hiring,5,Internship,12,Interview Tips,76,Job Search,61,Leadership,98,Marketing,10,Money & Career,20,Resume,24,Retirement,3,Salary,15,Scholership,1,Side Hustle,15,Tools & Skills,19,Training,2,Work Environment,129,Work From Home,21,
ltr
item
Career Magazine: Here's how to tell within 5 minutes if your boss is really a narcissist
Here's how to tell within 5 minutes if your boss is really a narcissist
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPYT9ufOBJmqOTfaMpVgQeyvPnpLpmImk3soyZs7fHNEkcJhqiwbV67cV9XsigGDXadiO59PSiUkgc0cPH0erL7auv3oWd5DQz0sWl2rot8tB4PS4Lls6i6r_6ZUS3LdRETkbjjnlySiz/s1600/1.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPYT9ufOBJmqOTfaMpVgQeyvPnpLpmImk3soyZs7fHNEkcJhqiwbV67cV9XsigGDXadiO59PSiUkgc0cPH0erL7auv3oWd5DQz0sWl2rot8tB4PS4Lls6i6r_6ZUS3LdRETkbjjnlySiz/s72-c/1.jpg
Career Magazine
https://career.dearjulius.com/2019/06/heres-how-to-tell-within-5-minutes-if.html
https://career.dearjulius.com/
https://career.dearjulius.com/
https://career.dearjulius.com/2019/06/heres-how-to-tell-within-5-minutes-if.html
true
709333744733904694
UTF-8
Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Read More Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS PREMIUM CONTENT IS LOCKED STEP 1: Share to a social network STEP 2: Click the link on your social network Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy Table of Content