Children With Low Self-Esteem Thrive Under Narcissistic Leaders: Leader-Follower Compatibility in Childhood

• In Event: Behavioral Consequences of Children’s Self-esteem During Childhood

Abstract

If you were a child with low self-esteem, which classmates did you look toward for guidance? Were these classmates more confident and dominant, and did they enjoy being in the center of attention? These are characteristics of narcissism – a personality trait that develops in childhood (Thomaes & Brummelman, 2016). From the age of 7, children with high levels of narcissism emerge as leaders in their classrooms (Brummelman et al., 2021).

Although research suggests that narcissistic adults make poor leaders (Nevicka et al., 2011), we theorized that children with low self-esteem may actually flourish under narcissistic leaders. According to dominance-complementarity theory (Grijalva & Harms, 2014), the dominance and confidence of narcissistic leaders provides a good match with the submissiveness and insecurity of followers with low self-esteem. We hypothesized that this compatibility would result in higher follower well-being, greater leader effectiveness, and more harmonious group interactions.

To test our hypotheses, we conducted the experimental-observational Childhood Leadership Study (N = 332 children, ages 7-14, 46% boys, 97% of Dutch origin). Children reported their trait narcissism and self-esteem and then completed a collaborative task (N = 107 three-person groups). Within each group, one child was randomly assigned as leader. After the task, followers reported their well-being and their perceptions of the leader and of the group interaction. We videotaped the task to code children’s behavior.

Consistent with dominance-complementarity theory, we found significant interactions between follower self-esteem and leader narcissism: Across outcomes, leader narcissism had significant effects on followers with low self-esteem (-1SD), but not followers with high self-esteem (+1SD).

As hypothesized, when followers with low self-esteem had more narcissistic leaders, they had higher state self-esteem, t(101) = 2.00, p = .048, r = .20, experienced more positive affect, t(207) = 2.73, p = .007, r = .19, felt more included by the leader, t(103) = 2.78, p = .006, r = .26, perceived more group cohesion, t(103) = 1.79, p = .076, r = .17, and showed less observer-coded social exclusion, t(103) = -2.03, p = .045, r = .20. In addition, they perceived the narcissistic leaders as more effective leaders, t(103) = 2.17, p = .032, r = .21, and as more desirable future leaders, t(101) = 2.00, p = .048, r = .20.

Leader-follower compatibility also shaped leaders’ behavior. As hypothesized, when narcissistic leaders had followers with low self-esteem, they showed less verbal bullying, t(103) = -2.31, p = .023, r = .22, less observer-coded aggression, t(103) = -2.64, p = .010, r = .25, less observer-coded arrogance, t(103) = -1.75, p = .083, r = .17, and less observer-coded social exclusion, t(103) = -2.70, p = .008, r = .26.

Collectively, our results provide the first empirical evidence for leader-follower compatibility in childhood. They identify a unique pathway to benefit children with low self-esteem: pairing them with more narcissistic leaders, which can improve their well-being, felt inclusion, and social behavior. Broadly, the results demonstrate the importance of studying how self-esteem and narcissism shape the development of leader-follower dynamics.

Authors

• Barbara Nevicka, Univeristy of Amsterdam

• Sarah M. van den Hee, University of Amsterdam

• Mariëlle van Loenen, University of Amsterdam

• Eddie Brummelman, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA)
  Presenting Author