Charisma and Narcissism
While reading Annabel Beerel’s, Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories there were many ideas that came to mind to focus on for this post[1]. Bereel has a chapter on neuroscience, a topic I love, and how it relates to leadership, she references Daniel Kahneman and David Rock whose books we have read.[2] In her chapter on the Psychology of Leadership she reference’s Edwin Friedman and his Failure of Nerve book.[3] There were spots where she mentioned things like storytelling and intuition that I thought about Eve Poole’s Robot Souls.[4] Beerel also discusses capitalism and the free market reminding me of Karl Polanyi.[5] The book being on leadership referenced Peter Northouse’s book on Leadership many times[6]. Interestingly Beerel is critical of Northouse’s definition of leadership saying it was too broad.”[7]
I felt that psychology and neuroscience have been addressed in other posts, capitalism, I fear will keep resurfacing, and we just read Poole’s book. In the end I decided to write about charismatic leadership and narcissism. I will end with a question for us to consider.
Charismatic Leadership
Charismatic leadership is a theory developed by House in 1976.[8] Beerel uses Andrew Durbin to sum up a charismatic leader’s characteristics.
- “They are visionary – they offer an exciting image of where the organization is headed.
- They have masterful communication skills – they can inspire people.
- They make people feel capable of achieving success.
- They have energy and are action oriented.
- They are emotional, expressive, and warm.
- They romanticize risk.
- They use unconventional strategies to achieve success.
- They have a self-promoting personality”[9]
House mentions the impact charismatic leaders can have on their followers: “trust in the leader’s ideology, similarity between the followers’ beliefs and the leader’s beliefs, unquestioning acceptance of the leader, expression of affection toward the leader, obedience, identification with the leader, emotional involvement in the leader’s goals, heightened goals for followers, and increased follower confidence in goal achievement.[10]
Look around at some of the leaders that we have today. Think about President Donald Trump but also think about the leadership that exists in some churches. What is it that draws thousands of people to a specific church every Sunday morning? What is it about Donald Trump that people were willing to storm the capital to try to keep him in power and later re-elect him despite his felony conviction? Beerel addresses this by referencing Davis and Gardner’s conditions that bring forth charismatic leaders. “A crisis or a time of distress, the need for a revolutionary solution to a crisis (and) the existence of followers who are attracted to a magnetic personality.”[11] These people simply step forward as having a solution to a current crisis.
What is the crisis that many see and/or feel? Patrick Deneen identifies the crisis, “growing numbers of citizens regard the government as an entity separate from their own will and control, not their creature and creation as promised by liberal philosophy. . . . The liberties that liberalism brought into being to protect—individual rights of conscience, religion, association, speech, and self-governance—are extensively compromised by the expansion of government activity into every area of life.”[12] Our freedoms are being taken away from us and it seems like we have no say in our politics.
In our time of frustration a charismatic leader appears, our savior. Look back at the list of impacts mentioned by House that a charismatic leader can have on their followers. A leader possesses power and many of us can quote the famous line from the Spiderman movie, with great power comes great responsibility (though probably not where it originated)[13]. N. T. Wright and Michael Bird suggest that “authority is problematic, because the vocation to rule constitutes a temptation to abuse power.”[14] Unfortunately, the church is not immune to this abuse of power. While I have not listened to it, I thought about the podcast series Christianity Today did titled “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.” Mike Cosper writes “In 2014, after more than a decade of tremendous growth and ministry, Mars Hill Church imploded with the resignation of its lead pastor, Mark Driscoll. Once a hub for those disenfranchised with cultural Christianity, (the perceived crisis) Mars Hill’s characteristic “punk rock spirit” became its downfall as power, fame, and spiritual trauma invaded the ministry.”[15]
Narcissistic Leadership
The power associated with charismatic leadership, Beerel cautions if not properly contained can become narcissistic leadership and that is already the case in many organizations today.[16]
Narcissistic leaders exhibit several characteristics, Beerel provides a list that includes
- A tendency toward grandiosity and distrust
- Driven to gain power and glory
- Surrounds themselves with sycophants
- Dominates others and sees everything as a win–lose situation
- Cannot tolerate dissent[17]
These are not healthy traits for a leader of an organization to possess, by definition a narcissist is self-absorbed, and the organization tends to suffer.[18] I am not going to name any names, but I’m guessing
that many of us can name at least one leader that exhibits these characteristics and unfortunately Beerel doesn’t give any suggestions on how to handle a narcissistic leader only things for a leader themselves to consider/avoid, most importantly self-awareness and ethics.[19]
Closing Question
I want to finish with a question for us to consider. As we (as a society) embrace our charismatic leaders and their ideology, are we so focused on getting what appears to be relief from the crisis that we lose sight of the bigger picture of what drives our morals and ethics?
[1] Annabel Beerel, Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories, (New York, NY: Routledge, 2021).
[2] Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow, (Canada: Anchor Canada, 2013(, Rock, Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long, (New York, NY: Harper Collings, 2009).
[3] Edwin Friedman A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. (New York: Church Publishing, 2007).
[4] Eve Poole, Robot Souls: Programming in Humanity, (Boca Rotan, FL: CRC Press, 2024)
[5] Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Times, (Boston, M: Beacon Press, 2001).
[6] Peter. G. Northouse, Leadership: Theory & Practice 9th Edition, (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2022).
[7] Beerel, 81
[8] Northouse, 188.
[9] Beerel, 297.
[10] Northouse, 189-190.
[11] Beerel, 298.
[12] Patrick, J. Deneen, Why Liberalism Failed, (New Haven, CT: Yale, 2018), 7
[13] Ellen Gutoskey, “’With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility’: From Age-Old Axiom to Spider-Man’s Mantra’ Mental Floss, March 29, 2024, https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/with-great-power-comes-great-responsibility-phrase-origins
13 N.T. Wright and Michael Bird, Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2024), 48.
[15] Mike Cosper, “Who Killed Mars Hill?” Christianity Today, June 21, 2021, https://www.christianitytoday.com/podcasts/the-rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill/who-killed-mars-hill-church-mark-driscoll-rise-fall/.
[16] Beerel, 301, 313.
[17] Beerel, 317.
[18] Bereel, 313.
[19] Beerel, 318.
About the Author
Jeff Styer
Jeff Styer lives in Northeast Ohio's Amish Country. He has degrees in Social Work and Psychology and currently works as a professor of social work at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. Jeff is married to his wife, Veronica, 25+ years. Together they have 4 beautiful children (to be honest, Jeff has 4 kids, Veronica says she is raising 5). Jeff loves the outdoors, including biking, hiking, camping, birding, and recently picked up disc golf.One response to “Charisma and Narcissism”
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Great post Jeff.
Given the characteristics and potential negative impact of narcissistic leadership outlined by Beerel, how can organizations ensure that their charismatic leaders maintain a balance of self-awareness and ethical behavior to prevent the shift towards narcissistic tendencies?