THE ALLURE OF THE TOXIC LEADER

Central to an understanding of toxic behavior in dysfunctional organizations is the prevalence and allure of the narcissistic leader. Beginning with the coining of the term “narcissism” by Havelock Ellis (1998), more than a century of ongoing research and speculation over the clinical condition of “self love” has ranged from Freud's description of a narcissistic personality type (1931/1950) to the view that narcissism in its extreme constitutes a personality disorder (Kernberg 1967, 1989a). In recent years organizational behavior researchers have increasingly assessed and described the high incidence of narcissism among noted and successful business leaders including Steve Jobs (Robins & Paulhus, 2001), Michael Eisner (Sandowsky, 1995), and David Geffen and Kenneth Lay (Kramer, 2003). Characterized by long-term agendas marked by extreme hubris, a preoccupation with personal egotistically driven needs for power and admiration (Kets de Vries & Miller, 1997) and grandiose visions and self-centered needs (Glad, 2002), the narcissistic leader can appear oblivious to constituents and display a troubling and dire lack of empathy for followers and organizations (Conger, 1997).