5 Evidence-Based Outcomes Of Both The Bright-Side And The Dark-Side Of A Leader’s Personality

There are so many theories and concepts about what makes an effective leader. Some say it’s their charisma or ability to inspire others, others believe it comes from how well they can handle pressure. 

However, effective leadership isn’t a simple checklist of skills you can master—it goes beyond any standard operating procedure.

There’s a recent rise in the debate that a leader has both a bright and dark side to their personality.

We need a thorough understanding of both sides if we want someone to be an effective team leader. In this blog, we will discuss each side with evidence and the outcomes and impacts of both.

How Narcissism Affects Leadership

Last week, I wrote an article entitled “Seven Things To Expect From Your Narcissistic Employee” that discussed how to deal with employees who are overly self-absorbed, arrogant, and manipulative and believe they are entitled to lead others. However, that article did not address what to expect from a leader with a narcissistic personality.

Once again, there are very few articles on narcissism in the top Management and I-O Psychology research publications. 

But I do want to share the results of a very well-done study recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, entitled “The Bright Side and the Dark Side of CEO Personality: Examining Core Self-Evaluations, Narcissism, Transformational Leadership, and Strategic Influence.” 

This study of 75 CEOs of Major League Baseball organizations over 100 years examined how positive and negative personality characteristics affected the individual’s leadership style and, ultimately, important outcomes for the organization.

Terms like confident, determined, optimistic, stable, persistent, and positive were associated with the bright side of leadership, while terms like arrogant, boastful, conceited, egotistical, self-centered, show-off, and temperamental were associated with the narcissistic dark side of leadership. 

Key Study Findings and Suggestions 

The authors of the study suggest the following five things based on their findings (pp. 1373-1374):

1. Leaders who have a positive overall self-concept are better able to articulate a vision that builds commitment to the organization’s goals.
2. Positive leaders may role model the efforts needed for the organization to be successful and are comfortable empowering others because they have a realistic sense of their own and their organization’s capabilities
3. Positive leaders are more comfortable focusing on the good of the organization rather than on their success.
4. Narcissistic leaders are unlikely to be concerned about developing equitable exchange relationships with members of their organization. When followers meet objectives, narcissistic leaders do a poor job of allocating recognition and rewards to reinforce desired behavior.
5. Narcissistic leaders are unlikely to offer a compelling vision for the organization and inspire others to higher morale and motivation levels.

The Bright Side of Leadership Personality

The bright side traits are the positive attributes of a personality that make an effective leader. 

For instance, leaders exhibit qualities like charisma, which helps them connect with their team members. They are also honest and have integrity, which means their team members can trust them. This way, leaders create a positive atmosphere around them, and that sets the tone for the entire organization to follow.

Similarly, when the leaders are empathetic and supportive of the team members, they feel more motivated to perform. They also think their opinions matter and are valued in the organization, improving team collaboration and overall performance. 

Engagement

Bright-side leaders are good at keeping employees engaged with the organization. According to Gallop’s research, teams that work under an engaged leader experience 21% more profitability than others.

Another study from Deloitte states that companies that foster a strong culture of trust and collaboration have higher levels of employee satisfaction and retention. Leaders work on shared values, which build a sense of belonging in the team, leading to long-term success.

The Dark-side of Personality

The dark side traits can create a toxic environment, especially if unchecked. Truth be told, no leader is an angel or a saint. But they must be stopped when they exhibit more of these traits that become detrimental to the organization and team.

Letting things go with a leader who shows narcissistic traits creates a rift amongst the team and weakens their level of trust and cooperation.

A study found that organizations led by leaders with a high number of harmful or toxic traits, such as lack of empathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism, have a higher employee turnover rate.

The dark side traits like impulsivity and narcissism can be detrimental to team dynamics.

How to Balance the Situation?

The key to improving oneself is self-awareness. When we realize both the dark and bright aspects of our personality, we can build on our strengths and minimize the impacts of our weaknesses.

Leaders can also work on two strategies to balance their personalities: 

1. Develop Emotional Intelligence

The most effective strategy for leaders to improve their effectiveness or emotional intelligence (EQ) is to understand and manage their emotions and empathize with fellow team members. This way, they can lead better and make better decisions for the team.

2. Feedback Mechanism

Feedback is crucial to the leader’s success and their journey to self-awareness. Regularly seek input from the team, as that will give you valuable insights about your leadership style as they perceive it. This will also create a positive work environment where employees feel their opinions are valued and can speak their minds.

Narcissistic leadership, as shown in this study, eventually leads to more manager turnover, while positive leadership leads to higher attendance, a better winning percentage, and greater external influence in the industry (Major League Baseball).

Just like the advice to avoid hiring narcissistic employees, you should likewise avoid hiring and promoting narcissistic individuals into positions of management and leadership. Narcissists can’t see the best in others when they are so laser-focused on spotlighting the best they know in themselves. 

They won’t treat people fairly because it simply is not a concern for them, and their vision of individual greatness is unlikely to inspire others and may even expose the organization to competitive peril.

No guarantee simply hiring and promoting positive people is a recipe for organizational success. But I think the research is pretty clear that narcissistic individuals, especially in positions of power and influence, are more likely to harm than to do lasting good.

Wrap Up

The personality a leader exhibits has a significant impact on their effectiveness and the performance of the team. On the one hand, bright side traits can improve the team performance and engagement rate overall, benefiting the organization. Whereas dark side traits, on the flip side, can be toxic and lead to harmful consequences.

Hence, the better and more self-aware a leader is, the more they can work towards balancing the personality and bringing about positive change and the success of the organization.

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Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Management at The University of Nevada, Reno. He earned his doctorate in Business Administration at Oklahoma State University. Bret blogs about leadership and social business at his website Positive Organizational Behavior. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.