NARCISSISTIC LEADERS: WHO SUCCEEDS AND WHO FAILS
By Michael Maccoby; Harvard Business School Press, Boston; 2007. 300 pages, Paperback
About The Book:
The book explains Narcissistic Leaders, a personality type which has both advantages and disadvantages. It presents how Narcissistic leaders excel at defining a compelling vision and infusing their followers with the courage to take their company in new directions. But they also tend to ignore sound advice and warnings coming from their peers and supervisors – which can cause them to sabotage their own careers and jeopardize their firm’s survival. The second half of the book explains in detail that, how can narcissistic leaders avoid the downslides of this complex personality types by becoming a productive narcissist. Here the author challenges the stereotype that people with this personality are best suited to lead only during times of rapid social and economic change. And a productive narcissistic leader redefines the way we understand and relate to today’s larger-than-life leaders.
NARCISSISTIC LEADERS: WHO SUCCEEDS AND WHO FAILS
The book in its 6 chapters and 300 pages elaborates and elucidates about those people who say that, their personal goal is to change the world. These people believe that through their ideas and the force of their own personality will bring about the changes that affect how people live and work. As it turns out, it takes a very unusual person to do this. These unusual people are called Narcissistic Leaders and to name a few of these kinds are Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockfeller, Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Jack Welch. Given the current dynamic business environment, this book is targeted for students, managers, leaders, e.t.c. who aspires for leadership positions and will find this book instructive and inspirational.
In chapter 1, the author has made an effective process to identify various personality types. To help us understand personality type the author has provided a comprehensive questionnaire to evaluate our own type and those of our colleague and boss.
Putting things into perspective the focus has been shifted to explain elaborately on what is narcissism in chapter 2. The remainder of this chapter is devoted in explaining late Freudian sense of personality type. There are 4 normal personality types which are as follows:-
1.Marketing personality- For people who adapt their personalities to the demands of the market.
2.The erotic (which is not a sexual term) - He is a person for whom loving and being loved are the most important thing.
3.The Obsessive- He is the conservative character who preserves order and maintains moral values.
4.The Narcissists- The type of person who impresses us as a personality, who disrupts the status quo and brings about change.
In chapter 3, the author has made a commendable effort to analyze and explain narcissism in each dimension possible. Initially, explaining contrasts between productive and unproductive personality. The chapter further explains in detail about strength ( independent thinking/ Risk taking, passion, Charisma, Voracious Learning, Perseverance, alertness to threats, sense of humor) & weaknesses ( Not listening , Over sensitivity to criticism, Paranoia, anger and put- downs, over competitiveness & over control, Isolation, Grandiosity) of narcissistic personality.
In chapter 4, Michael Maccoby has highlighted that a narcissist who is productive can make it to top of a company, but to stay on top, a productive narcissist has to overcome his weakness and also require to develop a crucial set of inter-related skill called ‘strategic intelligence’. In second half of the chapter author discusses the five elements of strategic intelligence in detail which are as follows:
•Foresight
•Systems thinking
•Visioning
•Motivating
•Partnering
In the subsequent chapter 5, the author has provided a picture other way around i.e. how to work with a productive narcissist. He has explained five principles for working with a productive narcissist which are as follows:
•Know yourself and your type.
•Acquire deep knowledge in your field.
•Learn how to partner effectively.
•Don’t invest your own ego.
•Protect the narcissistic images.
Also, in the end of the chapter the author highlights on how to handle the weaknesses of a productive narcissist.
In chapter 6, Michael Maccoby, presents his defense against public opinion which pointedly says that, is there a future in today’s world for productive narcissist, or has their time of prominence and glory gone the way of the internet bubble and irrational exuberance? The author explains with many examples and case studies and finally emphasizes with full conviction that there is a future for the productive narcissist; in fact our progress as a society depends on them and how well they use their abilities.
The strengths of the book lie in the narrative structure of the book chronicles. Each chapter is organized around a question or series of question, which gives clarity in the concepts given by the author. This book encourages that productive narcissistic are not only born, but can be made. Also, this book is one of the best catalyst for a narcissistic person to transform himself into a productive narcissist.
On the other hand narcissism is primarily a negative word as it is derived from a classic story of a boy named narcissus who can’t stop staring at his reflection in a pond, and as a result dies. Here the book predominantly focuses on narcissistic attributes and doesn’t lay’s emphasis on the pivotal features of leadership such as one-on-one relationships between leaders and individual, such as the ability to connect to others with emotional support and listening skills.
While comparing Narcissistic leaders with a similar framed book named ‘The wizard and the warrior – leading with passion and power’ by Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal has few elements which could have been added to make the book more valuable in terms of making narcissistic leaders a complete book. The book by which it is being compared has laid emphasis on an important dimension that great leadership does not happen without addressing political and cultural head on. It also, throws light by coining broad terms like wizard and warrior to explain effective leadership. Wizard’s strength lies in wisdom, foresight and the ability to see below and beyond appearances. Wizard relies on values, icons, rituals, ceremonies and stories and the author’s state that an enterprise without wizard is sterile and often toxic. And a warrior attribute is required because combat and conflict are endemic in and between organization and organizations that has no warriors runs the risk of being overrun by another that has.
Therefore, if these attributes would have been added to strategic intelligence then the magnitude of productive narcissist would have tremendously increased.
To conclude this review, the book is inspirational and leaves the readers interested in quick fix solutions dismayed. But the many anecdotes rendered by the author serve as food for thought. By opening the eyes and minds of readers in leadership positions, the book gives them the courage to take risks on behalf of the values they cherish and the people they lead. An engaging, simple, down to earth style enables better understanding of the author’s suggestions. Seeing the current dynamic business environment, management students who aspire for leadership positions will find the book instructive and inspirational. This book can help managers, entrepreneurs and leaders learn how to reduce the baneful effect of toxic side of narcissism and benefit from the positive side of narcissism.
