Leadership and narcissistic personality traits

As the 2016 presidential elections are currently underway in the United States, many are still shocked at the progress and dominance of Donald Trump’s campaign in the Republican party’s nomination race. At first, many thought it was a joke. Then when he started polling in decent numbers, people dismissed it as an acquisition of a niche population. But his numbers kept growing, and more and more people are providing their support for the former reality TV star’s campaign, including various celebrities and even former Republican candidates such as Ben Carson and Chris Christie.

So why is it that Trump is not only able to make crude and demeaning remarks targeted towards a variety of groups including women and muslims, but also somehow manages to get away with his statements and gather a growing support for him and his (extremely vague) political platforms?

The answer may lie in the following statements echoed by Trump throughout his campaign:

• “I will build a great wall — and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me — and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”
• “The beauty of me is that I’m very rich.”
• “The point is, you can never be too greedy.”
• “My IQ is one of the highest — and you all know it! Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure; it’s not your fault.”
• “My Twitter has become so powerful that I can actually make my enemies tell the truth.”

Through these statements, it is very clear that Trump embodies narcissistic personality traits. However, should this really be surprising? This is the man that became famous and earned billions of dollars through branding and associating his own name to the notions of luxury, wealth, and prestige. What may be more surprising, however, is the extent of influence and damage it can do when you put someone that is a narcissist in a position of power.

The association between narcissistic personality traits and leadership has been extensively studied. During periods of struggle and uncertainty, those that have narcissistic traits often emerge as the uncontested leader. This could potentially explain why Trump is resonating with so many voters, as the United States has undergone significant change in the past decade with the global recession and their involvement in the Middle East. In a study done by Resick, Whitman, Weingarten, and Hiller (2009) on CEOs and narcissistic personality traits, they found that CEOs that have these traits are more likely to propose big goals and continuously reinforce the drive needed to strive for those goals. However, in their book “The Narcissism Epidemic”, Twenge and Campbell (2009) have reported that a narcissist’s leadership term is limited, and they also attempt to debunk the myth that narcissists are effective leaders. Twenge and Campbell claim that narcissists are often impulsive, high-risk takers, have a propensity to lie, and arrogant; traits in which often lead to the demise of their corporations or institutions, and as well as negative personal, economic, and social costs for both themselves and others.

With this in mind, and with the rising concern of Trump’s presidency campaign, it puts forward the possibility of whether or not screening for narcissistic personality traits should be implemented as a requirement for those interested in running for leadership positions in public office, or perhaps leadership in general. If so, how would it be done? As of now, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) developed by Robert Raskin and Howard Terry, involves 40 questions with contrasting statements to help predict and assess whether someone is a narcissist. The questions can also be further divided to account for various subtypes including entitlement and exploitiveness. The NPI has been shown to be valid and reliable, especially in predicting behaviours and attitudes such as level of empathy. As the NPI can be used in the general population, the revised version of the test could be extended in length and be more specialized by encompassing additional elements such as scenarios and decision-making questions for greater accuracy and reliability on how candidate’s tenure might play out when they are in office and positions of power. It should also extend beyond the NPI’s limit of 40 statements, and efforts should be made to include secondary reports from family members and friends to provide greater accuracy. The scoring method, which as of now in the NPI is based on comparing a participant’s response to an average, could present difficulties for researchers in trying to map out what a suitable score or range would be for an ideal candidate running for leadership. If it were to be used with other countries, the revised test would have to account for cultural differences that impact social norms and beliefs. Another consideration, and one that particularly relates to those that need to campaign and acquire approval from a particular group, is one that relates to the advancements of technology and communication. With the advent of social media and continuous interconnectedness on a global scale, individuals have the ability to extensively promote themselves yet at the same time can gain a tremendous amount of coverage through different forms of media. Referring back to the example of the presidential elections, how would this impact the necessity for reassessment after a candidate has been screened, and how would the results of the reassessment be interpreted?

Although it may be a challenge, studying narcissistic personality traits in leadership positions remain a relevant topic. Characterized as callous, shallow, selfish, and manipulative, leaders with narcissistic personality traits can yield “yuge” negative results for everyone involved. This is especially the case for those that are interested in running for the president of the United States.

Student ID: 260513664

References

Resick, C. J., Whitman, D. S., Weingarden, S. M., & Hiller, N. J. (2009 ). The bright-side and dark-side of CEO personality: Examining core self-evaluations, narcissism, transformational leadership, and strategic influence. Journal of Applied Psychology , 94 (6), 1365–1381.

Rosslee, N. H., & Chandler, V. (2016, March 4). 25 Of The Most Outrageous Donald Trump Quotes . Retrieved March 21, 2016, from Marie Claire : http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/blogs/550112/donald-trump-quotes.html

Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2009). The Narcissism Epidemic . New York: Simon & Schuster Inc. .