Mystery Solved? Why Washington And Wall Street Are So Incompetent
Narcissism: Self-admiration or self-love; a tendency to over-estimate one’s abilities and importance
On October 3, award-winning Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein claimed that Wall Street’s incompetence, rather than greed, was behind the U.S. financial crisis. Unfortunately for Main Street, a new study shows that such incompetence may be a common trait not only among Wall-Street types, but government policymakers as well. From the MSNBC website yesterday:
Narcissists like to be in charge, so it stands to reason that a new study shows individuals who are overconfident about their abilities are most likely to step in as leaders, be they politicians or power brokers.
However, their initiative doesn’t mean they are the best leaders. The study also found narcissists don’t outperform others in leadership roles.
Narcissists tend to be egotistical types who exaggerate their talents and abilities, and lack empathy for others. The researchers stress that narcissism is not the same as high self-esteem.
“A person with high self-esteem is confident and charming, but they also have a caring component and they want to develop intimacy with others,” said lead researcher Amy Brunell, a psychologist at Ohio State University at Newark. “Narcissists have an inflated view of their talents and abilities and are all about themselves. They don’t care as much about others.”
She added, “It’s not surprising that narcissists become leaders. They like power, they are egotistical, and they are usually charming and extroverted. But the problem is, they don’t necessarily make better leaders.”
The results, which will be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, come from three studies, two with students and the other with business managers.
According to MSNBC, narcissists are drawn to this country’s political and financial power centers. From yesterday’s peice:
“Many people have observed that it takes a narcissistic person to run for president of the United States,” Brunell said. “I would be surprised if any of the candidates who have run weren’t higher than average in narcissism.”
Wall Street traders could also have a high dose of narcissism, she suggested. “There have been a lot of studies that have found narcissistic leaders tend to have volatile and risky decision-making performance and can be ineffective and potentially destructive leaders.”
Brunell does hedge though, saying that not all troubles in Washington and Wall Street can be blamed on narcissists, and of course, you can’t boil everything down to personalities.
Maybe so, but I have a feeling some Americans would like to see a number of “personalities” boiled right about now…
Source:
“Narcissists more likely to be leaders”
MSNBC, October 8, 2008
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