I’m A Professor of Human Behavior, And I Have News About The ‘Narcissists’ In Your Life
Dealing with a difficult boss or coworker can test your patience and be a drag on your productivity. But working with a narcissist, on the other hand, can be downright unhealthy. Their selfishness, manipulative tactics, and power hungry ways can be annoying at best and career-ending at worst.
As an executive coach and Human Behavior professor, I hear from readers every day who claim that they work with a narcissist. They complain about managers and colleagues who make their work-life harder than it should be and frustrate them to no end. They blame the other person’s narcissistic tendencies for a lack of progress, not realizing that their own self-absorption might be contributing to the problem.
The truth about narcissism
Psychologically speaking, narcissism is a personality trait that every person possesses to some degree. Like any characteristic, it exists on a spectrum. We all fall somewhere along the narcissism continuum. In fact, a certain amount of self-centeredness is healthy. Research shows that it contributes to confidence, resilience, and ambition.
However, any personality trait taken to an extreme can become pathological. A person who is excessively high in narcissism is said to have…
