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.