Got the idea for this from this tweet via Adam Grant:
This is sad, but expected. I’ve hit up the narcissism topic a few times, including how the hiring process rewards narcissism (it does), the problems with conversational narcissism (many), and whether we’re about to create a full generation of narcissists (maybe). That third link certainly seems true given the above research.
And we wonder why we need to have discussions about the exact percentage of CEOs that are sociopaths?
I think we need a completely new definition of, and approach towards, success in many ways. Narcissists chase a very specific model of success, and they often come to run organizations and places you might work, and the culture is shaped by them, and they mint further generations of narcissistic pricks.
Maybe we should start from the beginning by explaining that “confidence” is not “competence,” just like “makes money” does not mean “intelligent.” There are many dichotomies in the world of organizations, and we fall back into basic definitions and concepts far too often.
This is disheartening, but hard to argue.
