The Leader Ship Was Destined to Sink: An Examination of Dominance and Prestige on the Rise and Fall of the Narcissistic Leader

Objective: Narcissistic leaders' engagement in strategies of dominance and/or prestige at different times across their leadership tenure could explain why they are perceived favorably as leaders early on and unfavorably later on. Method: Over a 12-week period, we found that narcissism was positively associated with peer-rated leadership during initial group formation, but not later. Results: Dominance and prestige mediated these initial positive perceptions of narcissists as leaders. However, neither dominance nor prestige mediated the relationship between narcissism and leadership later on. Conclusions: The findings highlight a mechanistic role for dominance and prestige in explaining the rise and fall of narcissistic leaders over time.