narcissistic leadership in contrast to covenant leadership within law enforcement

Running head: NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIP

Narcissistic Leadership in Contrast to Covenant Leadership

Within Law Enforcement

Charles E. Klughart

Liberty University

CJUS 601-B01

2NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIP

Abstract

Narcissistic leaders and covenant leaders will be defined

and the major traits of each will be reviewed. The

comparison of these will be done in along with looking at

the Biblical base for both styles. As the traits for each

develop, the impact they may have on an organization will be

investigated. An organizational plan to introduce covenant

leadership into a large city police force, with a

narcissistic background will be presented. The goal is to

better understand the qualities and traits of both

narcissistic leaders and covenant leaders and how they

differ to help examine the change of a large city police

force.


Introduction

The word narcissism comes from the Greek myth described

by Steiner (1981) about a young man, Narcissus, who is so in

love with his own reflection in a stream, he will not drink

from it, because he does not wish to disturb his reflection.

There is a nymph named Echo who is in love with him. Echo

dies because she is rejected and her love is unrequited.

Narcissus dies because he will not leave the stream and will

not drink from it. So is it with the narcissistic leader

4NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIPwho is often drawn to the power and position for the self-

esteem and self-glory.

God is the best example of covenant. We look at

Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Moses, Hannah, and others to see

covenants he has made with all mankind though his son Jesus

Christ. Covenant is full of giving and putting others

first, it contains a relationship with others.

Narcissistic Leader

The narcissistic personality according to Ackerman,

Witt, Bonnellan, Trzesniewski, Robins & Kashy (2011) are

those that want attention and need to be in control. This

is often considered a bad trait but it can have positive

benefits. They will show a sense of superiority,

grandiosity, and self-absorption, along with exhibitionism,

envy, exploitative nature, and instability of mood. An

issue of pathological narcissism is shown though grandiosity

and vulnerability, expressed by inflated self-esteem, and

interpersonal behaviors shown though arrogant attitudes,

inflated self-esteem and interpersonal behavior issues.

5NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIPThey also have dysfunctional issues characterized by self-

esteem issues, emotional instability and internalizing

pathology. Many narcissistic leaders gain or become more

narcissistic as they gain more power. An example of that

may be Adolf Hitler, who while charismatic became

increasingly power hungry as his power increased.

An excellent example of God telling and warning us about

narcissism is found in the Bible.

But understand this that in the last days there will

come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of

self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive,

disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-

control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous,

reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure

rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of

godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2

Timothy 3:1-7, ESV)

6NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIPSome of the famous narcissistic leaders would include

Napoleon Bonaparte, Mahatma Gandhi and Franklin Delano

Roosevelt in addition to business leaders like Andrew

Carnegie, John Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford.

Maccoby (2000) in showing a narcissistic character used the

words of an executive at Oracle describe his CEO Larry

Ellison, “The difference between God and Larry is that God

does not believe he is Larry” (Maccoby, 2000, pp. 8). While

humorous can give us a very scary insight into the character

of this type of leader who gave the impression they were

god. Stein (2013) confirms this with their review of Fuld

from Lehman Brothers. The words used to describe his

behavior and personality was omnipotence and omniscience

As with any obsession there is an issue with image not

substance and often there is disconnect from reality. “

Clinical narcissism identifies a cluster of

dysfunctional self-obsessions. The condition is listed

as distinct personality disorder in the DSM-4, now more

closely identified with mental disorders in the DSM-5.


It is estimated that this personality disorder affects

approximately one percent of the population. (Emmerson,

2014, pp.12)

The clinical narcissism traits expressed by Emmerson, 2014)

include:

An obsession with image and appearances that surpasses

and may even preclude regard for reality or substance

An insatiable craving for admiration, fame, notoriety,

adulation, etc. that manifests in activity that

commands the center of attention

Fantasies of unlimited success, power and brilliance,

that are enacted, combined with the conceit that one is

envied, admired and adored by others

A grandiose sense of self-importance and superiority,

that often finds expression in haughty arrogance, and

that is sometimes characterized as “delusions of

grandeur”

The presumption that one can only be understood by

those endowed with exceptional brilliance and


accomplishment and that only such exceptional people

are worthy of one’s interest

An amplified sense of entitlement often manifest in a

predisposition to exploit and manipulate others

combined with the presumption that: (1) the social

rules that apply to others do not apply to oneself, (2)

one warrants exceptionally favorable treatment and

consideration, and (3) others should automatically

comply with one’s wishes

A lack of empathy for others coupled with a lack of

realistic awareness of the impact one’s behavior has on

others and impenetrable defenses against accepting any

responsibility for the adverse impacts of one’s

actions, including consequences brought upon oneself, a

defense that can escalate into an indiscriminately

destructive explosion of “narcissistic rage”. The

clinical narcissist never accepts personal

responsibility; any problems are always someone else’s

fault or attributed to bad luck.

9NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIP There are many narcissistic leaders who have become

very successful. They have the qualities according to

Riggio (2011) of being confident, assertive and highly

driven to achieve. They merely require a balance to keep

them from allowing this nature from becoming evil and

destructive. Because they are driven and almost relentless

in their pursuit of their goals they can get results.

Examples given of productive narcissistic leaders have

always included an assistant or partner that helped to add

balance or as Riggio (2011) called it, a trusted sidekick.

They cited Bill Gates & Steve Ballmer at Microsoft; Larry

Ellison & Ray Lane at Oracle as examples of narcissistic

leaders with a balancing sidekick. The narcissistic leader

can be gifted. They have a drive for success. They are

often the leader who will reach a new level of

transformation for society. They are extreme risk takers.

The negative side of the narcissistic leader is that in

their pursuit of goals, they can become ruthless, showing no

care for fellow workers and create collateral damage in

their wake. They lack empathy and often over sensitive to

10NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIPcriticism. The idea of being risk takers can also be a

danger if their dreams and visions become unrealistic and

they lack the self-knowledge and restraint to control their

self. In some cases, as in the example of Hitler, we see

suspicion; unpredictability and even paranoia become

evident.

Covenant Leadership

Moisan (2004) expressed that leadership is not

headship, it is not winning friends and influencing people

or even wielding power but it is simply a relationship

between leaders and followers. The idea is that there will

be a covenant between management and workers and among co-

workers with each having duties and responsibilities to each

other.

A covenant is a relationship based on mutual trust,

respect, values and commitment in which two or more

people are willingly bound together by a common and

ethical purpose. That purpose is bigger and more

important than any one individual and it provides


meaning and hope for everyone involved. (Moisan, 2004,

p. 1527)

Traits of a covenant leader is giving credit to others, not

being conceited, looking for ways to build up others. The

Biblical concept for this is referred to as hesed, or a

fundamental relationship that has reciprocal duties and

responsibilities for each member in the relationship. Psalm

105:8 is an example that for God a covenant is forever, for

a thousand generations this is the importance of our

relationships that we honor and keep them. The integrity

and the ethics we apply is the commitment we make.

Organizational Impact of Narcissistic and Covenant

Leadership

The effect of the narcissistic leader can make the

entire work place have a feeling of us against them. This

is a common feeling within the police, that it is only them.

This feeling among police even divides between line officers

and others in the department. Middle management and line

employees under a narcissistic leader will not be free to

12NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIPexpress their own feelings and must follow and comply with

the beliefs and directions of their leader. There is no

trust or relationship between management, employees and

often co-workers.

Covenant leadership gives way to a workplace of trust.

Parris & Peachey (2013) concluded that there was a much

higher of wellbeing among employees. Some of the benefits

given by Moisan (2004) include:

Building a community and mutual responsibility

Promoting common good, win/win

Foster relationships, mutual prosperity

Be driven by mission/values

Be bound by spirit/integrity

Encourage Free exchange/vulnerability

Be oriented toward service and development of

individuals

Imply trust/positive assumptions

Focus on giving and sharing

Support principles and liberty


Define accommodation

Promise long-term commitment

Lead to loyalty and motivation

Favor recognition of others

Create synergy/emotional attachment/increased social

capital

Hammond (2013) explains that covenant goes for past the

relationship of two people, but that a true covenant would

include a working relationship and building those

relationships on many dimensions. It would also include a

covenant between the police department and the community,

the police department and the city government, and perhaps

even a moral commitment with society as a whole. These are

in complete contrast to that of the narcissistic leader

where there is self-interest, mistrust, negative

assumptions, rules and restrictions, detachment, self-

recognition emotional distance and diminished social

capital.

Covenant Leadership Development Plan

14NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIP An important part to remember as one begins to build or

start relationships to build a covenant that it is not going

to be a fast project. Marquez (2013) explains that we need

to in building covenants to be honest, especially about

negative emotions, anger, fear, incomprehension, doubts. It

is this state of vulnerability, loneliness and brokenness

that allows us to be open to build new relationships. This

is true of covenants with people or with God.

Part of rebuilding a department will include

development of community acceptance and building a covenant

relationship between the community and the department.

Valentini, Kruckenberg, & Starck (2012) define building a

community relationship as a process of integration of people

and the organizations they create into a functional

collectivity that strives toward common or compatible goals.

This community building by police is often done by a form of

community policing.

A new chief of police who is a covenant going into a

new large local police department were the former police

15NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIPchief was narcissistic and currently there is narcissistic

leadership throughout all levels of leadership is going to

have a very difficult time. Narcissistic behavior only

grows as those who adopt it gain more power within a

department. Another problem is that a covenant leadership

depends on the building of relationships that will take

time. Often police chiefs do not stay with a department

long enough to fully develop them. Some of the major

obstacles are the diverse management grouping, including

shift and departmental management which would often cause

supervisory and management teams to rotate under different

leaders. This will cause difficulties in building

relationships needed for covenantal leadership. Another

issue will be the strict rules and chain of command

structure that is associated with larger police departments.

The normal promotional guidelines within a department are

somewhat based on a narcissistic type.

The most important aspect of change is to live the

message. No matter how rejected the officers for

relationships are, keep faith in the plan and have your side

16NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIPopen to build the relationships following the example of

Christ. In major plans, starting or redefining a community

policing element within the department. Community policing

allows for a more loose management, and allows officers more

decision making authority. This section could be a start

for positive change. Start having strategic meetings with

those Captains and above to share information, give credit

for actions within their commands, and present education

material on management. Review the management style of all

upper and middle management, and if and where possible, make

personnel moves to give those with a narcissistic leadership

style, that assistance or side kick that can help balance

them and keep them under control. Also accept the fact that

when controlled there are some positive results for a

narcissistic leader, so move them to areas where that form

of leadership will be the most productive, and the less

likely to spread further. Make an obvious openness and

transparency of your office, and make ethics and ethical

behavior of all officers a priority.

17NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIP Smaller changes would include being more visible and

visiting the line officers and lower level supervision and

show a real concern for their needs. Make sure officers who

have made improvements get at least minor attention.

Consider the use of social medial for your office to help

draw community into a better relationship.

Be accepting that all people will not change. Accept the

fact that these types of relationships and leadership are

long term projects and often there is no short term benefit

or appearance of working. Remember that part of

relationship is built on chain of command and policy

regulations, but it is important that those be followed as

part of the ethical standard. It can be expected that those

people who are accepting and wanting a covenant leader will

accept it, after they see real effort from the Chief to

establish their self as such a leader. Most departments may

be hesitating at first to see if this will “hold the test of

time” or if merely a phase to soon return to status quo.

Conclusion

18NARCISSISTIC LEADERSHIP There is no one clear cut leadership style that will

work for each person or situation. When controlled a

narcissistic leader has proven success stories but also

horror stories when things go wrong. The covenant leader

still has to have vision and drive but does it building

relationships and building others up. This like other

styles depends often on the people who are the followers and

there will always be some people, who do not want to build

relationships. The main importance of either style is the

importance of honesty and ethics, which can be a problem for

the narcissistic leader at some point.


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