Extreme narcissists and vulnerable narcissists are unlikely to be successful leaders over the long term. They may turn out to be catastrophic failures because they will typically display some or all of the following problems. Keep in mind that every person is unique, all people may display some or all of these problems from time to time, and even extreme or vulnerable narcissists may not ever display all of these behaviors or display any of them consistently.
- Narcissists typically lack empathy,APA 670 so they have a hard time feeling the needs of others or feeling any motivation to help others. With extreme narcissists, it’s all about them, all the time. Bernstein 130
- Narcissists’ lack of empathy also may impair their ability to form and maintain healthy, strong relationships with others over the long term with others whose cooperation they need, such as (for a U.S. president) members of Congress and foreign leaders. Extreme narcissists may be superficially charming, but they quickly grow tiresome.
- Narcissists usually feel entitled to whatever they want,APA 669 which may lead them to casually disregard the Constitution, treaty obligations, laws, regulations, or other ethical principles such as marital fidelity while campaigning or once in office. Breaking such rules can lead to scandals, investigations, hearings, lawsuits, and even impeachment proceedings.
- Narcissists often hold others in contempt,APA 670 which will make it difficult to work effectively with others who are not obligated to comply with the extreme narcissist’s wishes. For example, an extremely narcissistic president may find it challenging to work with Congress and foreign leaders because he or she may fail to treat them with respect.
- Narcissists “must constantly demonstrate that they are special” and have an unrealistically high opinion of themselves and their abilities. Bernstein 130 This distorted self-image may cause them to overestimate their chances for success. For example, it may make it harder for a president to develop laws and make regulatory interpretations that will withstand court challenges, pass legislation, and plan military operations, diplomatic and treaty negotiations, and many other functions of the executive branch.
- Overoptimism about the chances for success may cause narcissists to take risky gambles that fail, backfire, or lead to serious escalations of problems. The risks are greatest for anyone who has the authority to order military attacks or launch nuclear weapons, since such actions could lead to rapid escalations spiraling out of control with catastrophic and irreversible consequences. Imagine what would have happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis, for example, if John F. Kennedy had accepted the initial recommendation from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to launch surprise air attacks? We now know that multiple ballistic missile sites would already have been operational at that time.Poole The patient approach of a quarantine achieved Kennedy’s goals and avoided war.Kennedy
- When problems occur, narcissists usually blame others rather than accepting their own responsibility. Thomas 132; Martinez-Lewi 65
- Narcissists may lie excessivelyMartinez-Lewi, 63 because they feel no obligation to tell the truth and they overestimate the odds that their lie will not be discovered. The excessive lying, even by the standards of political candidates and officeholders, will over time compromise their credibility with voters, donors, supporters, and other political leaders.
- Narcissists may break their promises Bernstein 133, 135, 170; Martinez-Lewi 7because they feel no obligation to keep their promises in the first place. They usually feel that the rules do not apply to them. They also lack empathy that would discourage them from harming those who are harmed by breaking a promise. Over time, repeatedly breaking promises causes others to learn not to trust them,Vaknin 204-205 which in turns makes it more difficult for the narcissist to negotiate agreements successfully.
- Narcissists also may engage in many behaviors that irritate others, breach relationships, lead to social disapproval, and undermine their credibility, including: extramarital sexual activity while married;Bernstein 162 inappropriate outbursts of anger when they are challenged, questioned, or don’t get what they want;APA 670; Bernstein 152; Martinez-Lewi 102-105; Kapuchinski 151, 160; bragging;Bernstein 134, 155; Thomas; Kapuchinski 149, 151, 153; Martinez-Lewi 28-30 interrupting and talking over others, particularly when they are caught in a lie; Griffiths and bullying, belittling, or showing contempt for others.Griffiths; Bernstein 160, 166; Martinez-Lewi 29, 47; APA 670 A political leader cannot succeed alone. They need to be able to form alliances with and cooperate with others as long as they remain active in politics. Narcissists may burn bridges frequently, develop bad reputations, and wind up isolated and ineffective.
- Narcissists usually find it difficult or impossible to admit to themselves or others when they have make mistakes, failed, performed poorly, or been defeated.Martinez-Lewi 65 Instead of allowing their conscious self to acknowledge the reality that they are imperfect, their unconscious distorts their perception of reality to maintain their unrealistic “false self” image of themselves as perfect and blameless.Vaknin (2015) 1131Because they fail to perceive reality and their own performance accurately, they do not learn from mistakes in the way a normal person would, and therefore their performance in office may not improve over time as quickly as a person with a less distorted view of reality.
Narcissism is not all bad. Everyone needs a degree of “healthy narcissism” to achieve independence and psychological health. A mild amount of “grandiose narcissism” may help a political leader to be more effective by empowering them with confidence, the ability to inspire confidence in others, and the ability to persuade others to follow them.Watts
However, there are different kinds of narcissists. Martinez-Lewi, 20-21 There is no evidence that a thin-skinned “vulnerable narcissist” will be a successful president,Watts and a sadistic “malignant narcissist” may be downright evil.
There are also different severities of narcissism,Vaknin (2015) loc 6553 and the dose makes the poison. Extreme narcissists may be diagnosable with narcissistic personality disorder and may also be more likely to have a co-diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. The more narcissistic a political candidate’s behavior appears to be, the greater the cause for concern about their likely behavior once in power. The more powerful the office they hold, the greater damage they may cause once elected.
When evaluating political candidates, consider how narcissistic their behavior to date has been, what this may mean about their underlying personality structure and future behavior, and how suitable they may or may not be to hold office. If a person has consistently displayed highly narcissistic behavior, consider the possibility that a person with less narcissistic behaviors may be better suited for political office.
Works Cited
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Kindle Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013.
Bernstein, Albert J. Emotional Vampires. (First Edition) New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.
Griffiths, Ken. Character Disorders. Accessed March 2016.
Kapuchinski, Stan, M.D. Say Goodbye to Your PDI (Personality Disordered Individual). Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 2007.
Kennedy, Robert F. Thirteen Days.
Martinez-Lewi, Linda, Ph.D. Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life. New York: Penguin, 2008.
Poole, Walter S. “The Cuban Missile Crisis: How Well Did the Joint Chiefs of Staff Work?” 13 May 2014. Accessed 6 March 2016.
Thomas, David. Narcissism: Behind the Mask. Kindle Edition.
Vaknin, Sam. Malignant Self-Love: Narcissism Revisited. Prague: Narcissus Publications, 2007.
Vaknin, Sam. Malignant Self-Love: Narcissism Revisited. Tenth Edition. Kindle Edition. 2015.
Watts, Ashley L., et al. “The Double-Edged Sword of Grandiose Narcissism: Implications for Successful and Unsuccessful Leadership Among U.S. Presidents.” Psychological Science 24(12), 2379–2389. DOI: 10.1177/0956797613491970.
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