Mission vs. Ego: The Dangers of Narcissistic Leadership

About this episode

Brené Brown and Adam Grant discuss the dangers of narcissistic leadership and how to lead with mission over ego during a live session at SXSW.

This week, Brené and Adam are live at SXSW! They explore why so many people are vulnerable to narcissistic leaders. The conversation covers the conditions that breed narcissistic leadership, the roles of shame and fear, and how to survive a narcissistic boss, and what it means to lead with mission over ego. You can find The Curiosity Shop on YouTube and Instagram (@thecuriosityshop). Chapters: 0:00 - Introduction 3:14 - Why People Are Vulnerable to Narcissistic Leaders 12:21 - Shame-Based Fear 18:04 - Do We Think About Emotions Wrong? 19:21 - Undue Credit and the Narcissistic Leader 26:00 - Mission Over Ego 29:52 - How to Manage a Narcissistic Boss 39:18 - Anxiety as a Path to Narcissism 47:45 - Judging Impairs Judgement 1:02:20 - Closing Show Notes: Adam Grant, Why We Fall for Narcissistic Leaders, Starting in Grade School, NYT 2025. O'Reilly et al. 2001 When 'Me' Trumps 'We': Narcissistic Leaders and the Cultures They Create, 2021. Brené Brown, "Shame shields" in The Dare to Lead Glossary: Key Language skills, tools, and practices. (pg. 15-16) Bagozzi et al. 2003 (A study on cross-cultural differences in reaction to shame) Brené Brown, Dan Pink on The Power of Regret, Dare to…

People in this episode

Hosts: Brené Brown, Adam Grant

Topics covered

• narcissistic leadership
• shame and fear
• managing narcissistic bosses
• mission vs. ego
• vulnerability to leaders

Keywords

• narcissism
• leadership
• shame
• fear
• management
• SXSW
• ego

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Dare to Lead, Why We Fall for Narcissistic Leaders, Failures of Kindness, The Power of Regret, When 'Me' Trumps 'We': Narcissistic Leaders and the Cultures They Create, We're The Millers

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