Abstract EN:

Narcissistic character traits and social preeminence have often been seen as linked. Currently this correlation is most frequently interpreted in a pejorative sense, sometimes even qualified as psychopathic! On the contrary, the original conceptualizations of Freud and, after him, of Reich affirmed a predisposition of narcissistic personalities to become leaders. Following their lead, Kohut pointed to the ambivalence that this character trait might imply for narcissistic leaders, making them frequently dysfunctional in private life while being particularly well adapted to the direction of groups. Social Psychology, in a reluctant way, confirmed this hypothesis. Cognitive Psychology underlined related principles, e. G. Via the concept of self - efficiency. My own experience of a number of different corporate situations has brought me to similar conclusions. Since 1999 I have been formalizing the hypothesis that a particular psychological dynamic might characterize the way leaders function in organizations and corporations; a self whose framework is particularly adapted to organized collective life. Adopting a Gestaltist point of view allowed me to hypothesize an affinity between an inflatable self of the narcissistic type and the functions of the executive for his organization. Such a dynamic links the leader’s self to others and to work for the best results. Narcissistic tensions are the original source of the energy that is placed at the service of the collective, and the eventual success is capable of reinforcing the subject’s self-esteem. Relational specificity includes efficiency as regards the goals of the group, but implies a form of incompleteness with respect to personal relations. The experimental approach is based on more than thirty interviews with leaders selected for the variety of specific missions and roles that represent all together, within a variety of companies of different sizes (10 to 10 000 employees). They are men and women in presidential, directorial or executive committee positions, as well as leaders of a directly inferior rank in the case of the very large corporate groups. Of a semi-structured nature, the interviews were intended to provide objective elements and also to touch upon the subjective, lived experience in the leader’s lives. Rorschach SIE tests were carried out and their results confronted with other established norms as well as standard French examples. The hypotheses were verified; more or less systematically a notable narcissistic weakness was identified, as was an almost chronic sense of dissatisfaction in relations with others. Several interviewees had in fact already at least globally conceptualized the overall nature of their experience in ways that were close to those of my research.