12F1Dawes
Business Problem: Narcissism
In simple layman terms narcissism is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy. Back in 2002 I had the liberty and honor of working with a narcissist. I worked closely with him for 7 years, and he had a bully character for sure. The worst experience I had with dealing with him was when I was serving on a team of continuous improvement projects at a major truck manufacturing company. He was brought in to turn around a particular division and the continuous improvement team was under his umbrella of leadership. I had great troubles with this individual, but did my best to address my issues directly. That was my biggest mistake. My perception was that he was outwardly charming but inwardly self-centered, he would say that he cared about the organization and the team, but in reality, I believe he felt nothing. But narcissist have that ability to be charming and charismatic. The odd thing was that he could show tremendous energy, drive, enthusiasm and a positivity that was contagious. But I felt like he believed that rules didn’t apply to him. He would hold his team to a different standard than he held himself. I recall one instance he bought expensive electronics items for himself, but restricted the team to a centered budget when it came to items that were needed for the project. Later I found out how frighteningly insincere he was. He could look you in the eye and tell a complete and outlandish lie without blinking. But the worst and most damaging trait was his inability to be challenged by me and his peers. If you dare challenged him, it would only be a matter time before you were either fired or found yourself doing a horrible job. This was the business problem I dealt with almost 13 years ago. It was a difficult time back then dealing with someone I felt, I could not trust even though this individual was my leader and...