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Why Narcissists Actually Get Promoted (The Curvilinear Effect) | | V6 EP2
The narcissism-leadership relationship is not linear ā it's an inverted U. This is what Grijalva's meta-analysis of hundreds of independent studies actually found, and it changes everything about how you think about leadership selection.
Very low narcissism: hesitancy, insecurity, insufficient conviction to lead. Moderate narcissism ā the empirical sweet spot: confidence, charisma, calculated risk-taking, and vision without exploitation. Very high narcissism: tyranny, reckless ego-driven decisions, and the progressive alienation of the team that effective leadership depends on.
Most promotion systems select heavily for traits at the high end of the curve ā charisma, boldness, assertiveness ā without the structures that keep those traits in the productive zone. Knowing where the sweet spot is and what keeps someone in it is what changes outcomes.
š Full research article: https://www.keca.co.uk/articles/the-positive-aspects-of-dark-tetrad-traits
#narcissism #leadershippsychology #darkpsychology #workplacepsychology #organisationalpsychology #psychologyguyofficial
Do you want to know where you stand on the Dark Personality scale? Take the Dark Personality Assessment - https://www.keca.co.uk/assessment - it's FREE (and we don't collect data)
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DISCLAIMER:
ā ļø For educational purposes only. Not professional psychological or medical advice.
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There's a sweet spot of narcissism for leadership. And this is peer-reviewed science, not executive coaching intuition. Grielva's meta-analysis of hundreds of studies found the relationship between narcissism and leadership effectiveness is curvilinear and inverted U. Too little, the leader appears hesitant, insecure.
The sweet spot, confidence, charisma, risk-taking without exploitation. Too much, tyranny, arrogance, catastrophic decisions driven by ego. Most promotion systems only select for the part of the curve that eventually becomes the problem. See the full breakdown in the link below.