Behind the narcissist's management style.

Narcissistic leaders need affirmation from their followers - preferably adulation. Secondly, narcissists tend to be isolated, dismissing caution and advice from others. Rather than attempting to persuade those who disagree, the narcissist tends to ignore them. They only listen to the kind of information they seek, and don't easily learn from others. They prefer indoctrination or control to teaching. They also tend to shun emotions, and given their own difficulty with knowing or acknowledging their own feelings, they tend to be extremely uncomfortable with other people expressing theirs - particularly negative feelings. They cannot tolerate dissent, bruise easily, and can easily become paranoid. Some narcissists are so defensive that they actually make a virtue of the fact that they do not listen to others. Whilst narcissists often crave empathy from others, they do not, on the whole express empathy for others. Whilst narcissistic leaders often say that they want teamwork, what that means in practice is that they want a group of yes-men. Narcissists see no reason to change their behaviour, and as long as they believe they are 'successful', they don't have to.

Phil Hine