Generally, most people think good leaders have always positive qualities, for example, they are always kind, affiliative and flexible. Those types of leaders are loved and supported by everyone. However, there are not only positive types of leaders but also narcissistic leaders. Narcissistic leaders are sometimes disliked by many people and people consider them to be unsuitable for the positions of leaders. In “The Story of Steve Jobs: An Inspiration or Cautionary Tale?”, Ben Austen says that Steve Jobs was narcissistic, but he was successful in his business and he changed the world. In “Narcissistic Leadership”, Seth A. Rosenthal and Todd L. Pittinsky point out that there are both positive …show more content…
Therefore, narcissistic leaders should be justified because their bold and eager acts are beneficial to produce great effects to our society.
Being visionary for the future could be successful for a great leader. Being a visionary means having obvious ideas of what the world should be in the future. Rosenthal and Pittinsky say that leaders with clear perspectives are useful not only for themselves but also for the followers. They suggest that, “productive narcissists are ‘not only risk takers willing to get the job done but also charmers who can convert the masses with their rhetoric’” (622). This means that narcissistic leaders’ visions are effective to stimulate themselves to do brave actions even if the actions have high risks. Also, that visions could charm other people and stimulate others’ …show more content…
First, narcissists tend to be amoral. Amorality means having no moral standards at all. “narcissistic leaders demand the impossible of their supporters, and when they do not get everything they ask for, they conclude that their supporters have forfeited their right to exit (Rosenthal and Pittinsky 621)”. Leaders who have no morals, make unreasonable demands of their followers. However, if the followers do not achieve the demands, the leaders treat the followers cruelly. Also, if the leaders request that the followers do something absurd, it is very stressful for followers, so they could lose followers’ motivation. Amoral leaders are not productive in our society. Second, narcissistic leaders are often insatiable. Insatiable people always want more and more of something. If leaders who are insatiable, they could kill the followers’ motivation. If a leader who are very greedy tends to exaggerate their career or ability when they talk to their supporters because they want to become the center of public attention. (Rosenthal and Pittinsky 620). For instance, there is a boss in a company who wants to talk proudly about their past career. If the boss is apt to boast of their career many times, the subordinates will be fed up with talking with them. Moreover, the boss could make their subordinates not want to work together. Because of that, leaders who have narcissistic characteristics should be