Humble narcissists make great leaders. (2015)

“Humility is not about modesty. A humble person knows their own strengths but recognises other people may be even stronger in other areas…. by seeking advice …. it is possible to achieve something even higher than what can be done alone.

Quy Huy, Associate Professor of Strategy, INSEAD

INSEAD Knowledge.com: Leadership & Organisations, 5 Aug 2015

“Recent research examined leaders who were narcissistic yet humble (two seemingly oxymoronic traits) and found that not only could the two apparently contradictory personal attributes exist simultaneously in the same leader, but narcissistic executives who were able to temper, or counter-balance, their self-centered egocentricity with humility often proved to be superior leaders.

“Narcissism is not necessarily a bad thing, and is part of many leaders’ (and entrepreneurs’ and innovators’) personality. Narcissists are more likely to espouse bold visions, and be passionate and persistent in bringing them to life. However they are also prone to potentially toxic behaviours: ignoring alternatives, dismissing challenges to their ambitions and having a tendency to become self-focused, using people as tools to meet their own aspirations. Great leaders recognise these self-induced traps and take steps to contain or regulate them by balancing the narcissism with humble behaviour.

“Humility is not about modesty. A humble person knows their own strengths but recognises other people may be even stronger in other areas. They know that by seeking advice from people with a different perspective and cooperating with them, it is possible to achieve something even higher than what can be done alone. Ospel, CEO of UBS, showed very little of these behaviours.”

Access the full article here: Humble narcissists make great leaders.