Narcissistic Leaders

Abstract

Throughout history, narcissists have always emerged to inspire people and to shape the future. This chapter discusses the differences between productive and unproductive narcissism. Leaders such as Jack Welch and George Soros are examples of productive narcissists. While Freud recognized that there are an almost infinite variety of personalities, he identified three main types: erotic, obsessive, and narcissistic. Many erotics are teachers, nurses, and social workers. At their most productive, they are developers of the young as well as enablers and helpers at work. As managers, they are caring and supportive, but they avoid conflict and make people dependent on them. Obsessives, in contrast, are inner-directed. They create and maintain order and make the most effective operational managers. Not long after Freud described his three personality types in 1931, psychoanalyst Erich Fromm proposed a fourth personality type, which has become particularly prevalent in today's service economy. Fromm called this type the "marketing personality".

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