This article develops and illustrates a gendered theorization of narcissism as it relates to the self-identity of leaders in organizations. While the value of existing theories of leadership and narcissism are acknowledged, it is noted that they treat narcissism in an implicitly masculine fashion. In so doing they limit narcissistic leadership identity to relatively aggressive, self-oriented, and domineering forms. To develop a more thorough and nuanced appreciation of the implications of narcissism for leaders' identity work, the article articulates a gendered perspective on narcissism that accounts for forms of leadership that are self-focused but not necessarily traditionally masculine. Four types of leadership narcissism are identified and illustrated: the bully, the star performer, the servant, and the victim. While each of these forms is narcissistic in that identity is associated with the defence of a grandiose self-image (ego ideal) through the admiration of others and the love of the self, they achieve this in markedly different, and gendered, ways. The article concludes by arguing how a gendered reading of narcissism and leadership provides a richer understanding of the narcissistic behaviours of men and women in contemporary organizations.
Acker, J. (1990) `Hierarchies, Jobs, Bodies: A Theory of Gendered Organizations', Gender and Society4(2): 139—58.
2.
Bordo, S. (1986) `The Cartesian Masculinisation of Thought', Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society11(3): 439—56.
3.
Brewis, J., & Linstead, S. (2000) Sex, Work and Sex Work. London : Routledge.
4.
Brown, A.D. (1997) `Narcissism, Identity and Legitimacy', Academy of Management Review22(3): 643—86.
5.
Carr, A. (1998) `Identity, Compliance and Dissent in Organizations: A Psychoanalytic Perspective', Organization5(1): 81—99.
6.
Collinson, D.L. (2003) `Identities and Insecurities: Selves at Work', Organization18(3): 527—47.
7.
Downs, A. (1997) Beyond the Looking Glass: Overcoming the Seductive Culture of Corporate Narcissism. New York: Amacom.
8.
Due Billing, Y., & Alvesson, M. (1994) Gender, Managers and Organizations. Berlin: de Gruyter.
9.
Dunbar, R. (1985) `Narcissistic Dilemmas and Studies of Organizations '. Paper presented at The Conference on Alternative Perspectives on Organizations, Baruch College, New York.
10.
Ford, J. (2006) `Discourses of Leadership: Gender, Identity and Contradiction in a UK Public Sector Organization', Leadership2(1): 77—99.
11.
Foucault, M. (1979) The History of Sexuality Vol. 1. New York: Vintage.
12.
Freud, S. (1914/1991) `On Narcissism: An Introduction', in A. Richardson (ed.) Sigmund Freud: On Metapsychology , pp. 59—98. London: Penguin.
13.
Freud, S. (1921/1975) Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. Standard Edition of The Complete Works of Freud. New York: Norton.
14.
Gabbard, G. (1996) Psychodynamic Psychiatry in Clinical Practice. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
15.
Garfinkel, H. (1967) Studies in Ethnomethodology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
16.
Gatens, M. (1996) Imaginary Bodies: Ethics, Power and Corporeality . London: Routledge.
17.
Gherardi, S. (1995) Gender, Symbolism and Organizational Cultures. London: SAGE.
18.
Grosz, E. (1990) Jacques Lacan: A Feminist Introduction. London: Routledge.
19.
Grosz, E. (1995) Space, Time and Perversion. London: Allen and Unwin.
20.
Hatch, M.J., & Schultz, M. (2001) `The Dynamics of Organizational Identity', Human Relations55(8): 989—1018.
21.
Hearn, J., & Piekkari, R. (2005) `Gendered Leaderships and Leaderships on Gender Policy: National Context, Corporate Structures, and Chief Human Resources Managers in Transnational Corporations', Leadership1(4): 429—54.
22.
Hekman, S. (1997) `Truth and Method: Feminist Standpoint Theory Revisited' , Signs22(2): 341—65.
23.
Höpfl, H. (2002) `Hitchcock's Vertigo and the Tragic Sublime', Journal of Organizational Change Management15(1): 21—34.
24.
Iedema, R., Rhodes, C., & Scheeres, H. (2005) `Presencing Identity: Organizational Change and Immaterial Labor', Journal of Organizational Change Management18(4): 327—37.
25.
Iedema, R., Rhodes, C., & Scheeres, H. (2006) `Surveillance, Resistance, Observance: Exploring the Teleo-affective Volatility of Workplace Interaction', Organization Studies27(8): 1111—30.
26.
Jorstad, J. (1996) `Narcissism and Leadership: Some Differences in Male and Female Leaders', Leadership and Organization Development Journal17(6): 17—23.
27.
Kets de Vries, M. (1985) `Narcissism and Leadership: An Object Relations Perspective', Human Relations38(6): 583—601.
28.
Kets De Vries, M. (1995) Organizational Paradoxes: Clinical Approaches to Management. London: Routledge.
29.
Kets de Vries, M. (1999) `What's Playing in the Organizational Theatre? Collusive Relationships in Management', Human Relations52(6): 745—73.
30.
Kets de Vries, M. (2004) `Organizations on the Couch: A Clinical Perspective on Organizational Dynamics', European Management Journal22(2): 183—200.
31.
Kodish, S. (2006) `The Paradoxes of Leadership: The Contribution of Aristotle', Leadership2(4): 451—68.
32.
Lasch, C. (1979) The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations. London: W. W. Norton.
33.
Linstead, S.A. (2000) `Gender Blindness or Gender Suppression? A Comment on Fiona Wilson's Research Note', Organization Studies21(1): 297—303.
34.
Linstead, S.A., & Pullen, A. (2006) `Gender as Multiplicity: Desire, Difference and Dispersion', Human Relations59(9): 1287—310.
35.
Lowe, L., Mills, A., & Mullen, J. (2002) `Gendering the Silences: Psychoanalysis, Gender and Organization Studies', Journal of Managerial Psychology17(5): 422—34.
36.
Maccoby, M. (2000) `Narcissistic Leaders: The Incredible Pros and Cons', Harvard Business Review78(1):69—77.
37.
Ovid (2001) The Metamorphoses of Ovid. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
38.
Pullen, A. (2006) Managing Identity. Basingstoke : Palgrave.
39.
Rosener, J.B. (1995) America's Best Kept Secret: Utilizing Women as a Management Secret. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
40.
Rosenfeld, H. (1965) Psychotic States: A Psychoanalytic Approach. New York: New York Universities Press.
41.
Rosenthal, S.A. (2006) Narcissism and Leadership. Boston, MA: Harvard University.
42.
Schwartz, H.S. (1990) Narcissistic Processes and Corporate Decay. New York: New York University Press.
43.
Schwartz, H.S. (2004) `Narcissistic Leadership', in J. McGregor Burns, G. R. Goethals & G. Sorenson (eds) Encyclopedia of Leadership, pp. 1064—67. London: Berkshire Publishing Group/SAGE.
44.
Sennett, R. (1977) `Narcissism and Modern Culture', October4: 70—9.
45.
Silverman, D. (1975) Reading Castaneda. London: Routledge.
46.
Wajcman, J. (1998) Managing Like a Man: Men and Women in Corporate Management. Pittsburgh, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.
47.
Weber, M. (1949) The Methodology of the Social Sciences. New York: Free Press.
48.
Wilson, F. (1995) Organizational Behaviour. Oxford : Oxford University Press.
49.
Wilson, F. (1996) `Organizational Theory: Blind and Deaf to Gender?' , Organization Studies17(5): 825—42.
