Why Narcissists Emerge as Leaders Even in Childhood

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Why Narcissists Emerge as Leaders Even in Childhood

Many children choose to follow peers with more narcissistic tendencies—and self-esteem may be part of the complex power dynamics involved

By Eddie Brummelman

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-narcissists-emerge-as-leaders-even-in-childhood/

Why might children (or for that matter, adults) with low self-esteem be drawn to narcissistic leaders? Narcissistic leaders may offer them a sense of worth, security and community—the very feelings people with low self-esteem tend to lack. Michael Hogg, a social psychologist at Claremont Graduate University, has suggested that when people feel uncertain about themselves or the world, they may identify with groups led by a narcissist, who makes grandiose claims, lacks empathy and shares fantasies of unlimited success.

In our study, narcissistic children also felt more comfortable leading peers with low self-esteem. They bullied them less and were more inclusive toward them. We believe this is because followers with low self-esteem don’t threaten the narcissistic leader’s position. Rather, they follow the leader—allowing the child in charge to shine and feel secure in their superiority.

This tendency reveals a striking symbiosis—that is, a close association of two organisms that benefits both—between narcissistic leaders and followers with low self-esteem. Yet this mutual advantage might be short-lived. Over time, this dynamic may develop into a toxic cycle of dependency. Followers may reinforce narcissistic leaders’ growing dominance, while leaders may reinforce the followers’ growing submissiveness.

In a 2018 study by Nevicka and colleagues of leader-follower dyads among adults working in different organizations and across different industries, followers with low self-esteem perceived narcissistic leaders as abusive, which led them to underperform and feel burned out. Thus, even though being led by a narcissistic leader might feel reassuring initially, it can ultimately make those with low self-esteem more vulnerable to harm.

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1. Not surprising. They emerge as leaders but not necessarily effective leaders.

While self-confidence is important to leaders, a less commonly considered but still important attribute of effective leaders is humility. Humility is in short supply when we look at narcissists.