We raised a nation of narcissists, and now they’re getting ready to take over the workforce.
That’s according to psychologists Jean Twenge and W. Keith Campbell. Their book, Living in the Age of Entitlement, presents findings from a survey of more than 37,000 college students showing that narcissistic personality traits rose as fast as obesity from the 1980s to the present.
Just the thought of an influx of arrogant, self-promoting members of generations Y (Millennials) and Z (Digital Natives) keeps many managers and HR practitioners up at night. But guess what? Narcissism isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The driving force behind narcissistic behavior is an individual’s belief that he or she is unique or exceptional in some way. People with a strong proclivity toward narcissistic behavior are most likely to be:
Sounds terrible, right? However, recent research by Dr. Jeff Foster, director of the Hogan Research Department, indicates that narcissism, in limited amounts, along with self-awareness and coaching, can positively impact an individual’s career.
Foster compared personality data and performance ratings for nearly 1,000 individuals, and found that narcissistic people are more likely to be seen as knowledgeable about their industry, excellent at taking initiative, managing their performance, and achieving results than their more humble counterparts.
Of course, this raises the question of whether these individuals are actually more effective at work, or if they are simply better at self-promotion and advancing their own agenda. However, for the purposes of rising through the corporate ranks, both are equally useful.
Narcissism in controlled doses can be useful, but, as recent news headlines have demonstrated, left unchecked, narcissism can be extremely detrimental to one’s performance. So, how can you, as a manager, HR practitioner, etc., help keep people’s self-promotion from crossing into derailment? By providing them with strategic self-awareness and coaching.
Narcissistic individuals believe in their own superior talent and typically resist developmental feedback. If personal development is presented as a strategy for advancing their personal agenda, however, narcissistic individuals can be persuaded to:
It all comes down to self-awareness. If you provide your employees with a realistic understanding of their strengths, weaknesses, and behavioral tendencies, they can harness the positive outcomes associated with narcissism and avoid taking it overboard.
