Narcissus is mentioned in Greek mythology.
One day, a young and beautiful girl named Ekho sees Narcissus while hunting and falls in love with him. But Narkissos leaves Ekho's attention unrequited. Ekho is very upset about this situation and day by day he melts by burying his love in it, and its pieces hit the rocks and the mountains, turning into echoes we call "eco". According to mythology, the gods living on Olympus Mountain were very angry with Narkissos and decided to punish him. One day, when Narkissos was trying to drink water from the river, he saw his own face in the river. Narkissos, who has never seen his own face before, falls in love with himself and admires himself. Over time, he melts in front of his appearance and dies….
This is a mythology. It is said that the word narcissist also comes out of this story. Like Narcissus, it is a phenomenon that emerges from self-admiration and self-admiration.
William Gentry, W. Keith Campbell, Brian Hoffman and Karl Kuhnert of the University of Georgia and Kenneth DeMarree from Ohio State University, "Are the people chosen as leaders people with narcissistic personality?" They have conducted research seeking an answer to the question. According to the results of their studies, it was observed that people with narcissistic personality traits are at the forefront in choosing a leader by looking at their personality traits when choosing a leader in leaderless groups.
In the research conducted on 432 students; First, the personality traits of all students were determined by testing and then they were divided into groups of four. Then the groups were asked to appoint a manager for the student council. Individual candidate profile information was given to each person in the group. Everyone among themselves argued for their candidate profile. As a result of the discussion, candidate voting was made. A leadership evaluation questionnaire was conducted for themselves and other group members. As a result, it was revealed that the people who got the most votes were the students who got the most points in the narcissism dimension.
Secondly, in the research conducted on 408 students; The students, who were divided into groups of four, were asked to discuss and decide among 15 scenarios that would allow them to survive, imagining that they were stranded on a deserted island. As a result, it was observed that groups with high narcissistic personalities stood out in this group study and performed their tasks more successfully. It was observed that groups with a high narcissist dimension were also prominent by other groups.
The third study was done on 153 business executives studying in a university's executive MBA program. The people divided into groups of four were told that they took on the board of directors of a school and that they provided a large financial resource in this task. The observers gave points to those who stood out for leading within their group. As a result, it was seen that students with a high narcissistic dimension were likely to emerge as leaders by observers.
In leaderless communities, narcissistic personalities come to the fore in the selection of leaders.
Those with narcissistic personalities like to show themselves in the forefront. They show their abilities more than they are. They glorify themselves by showing themselves superior to one another. They are people who admire them. Since they are extroverts, they look cute and resourceful. Their communication and address is good. Because their biggest trump and power is that they influence people and make them admire them. They have the power to use people and communities until they achieve their goals. They insist on getting what they want and are ready to crush those who will put an obstacle in this matter.
The greatest fear of leaders with a narcissistic personality is not being accepted, abandoning them by their supporters, weakening their power and being criticized. For them, every criticism and dissenting voice is a threat. They are blind to themselves because they are admirers. Most of the time, they don't see the facts. They don't want to see it. If they are not accepted from around, they will melt like Narcissus. In fact, they prepare their own ends.
Leaders with a narcissistic personality draw their strength from those around them, as has been seen in history. They can damage and destroy the people, communities, companies and countries they are responsible for, at the expense of their power. Persons with this personality structure, with the point of view of "If I exist, you exist, if I am not there, you also disappear", people with this personality structure support others' ideas and thoughts if they serve their goals, if not they cannot tolerate. People can use any means necessary to convince communities of the correctness of their goals. If they cannot be convinced or accepted, they become aggressive and enter a dangerous state of mind. This situation breaks them down and makes them sick. As the power sources dissolve, they melt the people, communities and companies with them over time.
Although narcissistic personalities are at the forefront in the selection of leaders of the groups, there is no guarantee that the groups and communities in which they are chosen with this personality will improve. But there are examples and signs that it will make it worse. In the title of the article, "what about after…!" In the 21st century world, groups cannot be sustained in moving the company forward. Success is possible, but things will get inconvenient when their own incompetence arises.
For this, companies and institutions should give great importance to their personalities while choosing leaders. Before it's too late….!
