Narcissistic personality

• personality means 'characteristics that differ between people and are relatively stable and consistent over time'

  Bullies who are narcissists behave as narcissists most of the time
• narcissists gain pleasure from admiring themselves
• 3 Key features of narcissists

  • Grandiosity
  • arrogance/vanity
  • lack of empathy
• Grandiosity

  • overwhelming degree of self-importance,believe they are superior and unique to everyone else
  • fantasise over overstated abilities,their power and success and believe they have a special place in society
• Arrogance/vanity

  • boast about achievements(non-existent or over exaggerated)
  • entertaining so are tolerated and listened to
  • main purpose is to fish for compliments,satisfy their huge need for admiration and gain recognition
  • sense of entitlement and expect others to defer to them
• Lack of empathy

  • jealous of others and express this openly
  • focus on their own needs and fail to acknowledge other feelings
  • lack sensitivity and empathy,they dont understand or accept the impact of their behaviours on others
• Narcissists are more likely to be bullies
• they form relationships with people who give them the attention they crave,those who fail to ponder to a bullies ego are ignored and in some cases bullied
• Heightened sense of superiority

  • abusing others enhances their sense of superiority,it confirms they are strong and successful even if others see them as a bully
• Over-sensitive to criticism

  • finely tuned sensitivity to criticism from others,questioning by others threatens their grandiosity
  • the criticisms doesnt have to be real,but perceived
  • defend against the feelings of intense humiliation and rejection
• Narcissism exists on a continuum
• Most people are healthy narcissists and have some traits,but some have high levels of NPD(classified by ICD-11 and DSM V)
• NPD affects 1% of the population
• lots of research of narcissism in the workplace
• Lots or organisations are highly structures and give plenty of opportunities to satisfy the needs of a narcissist
• Peter Randall


  narcissists preform well in interviews as its an opportunity for them to boast about themselves and they are usually promoted quickly due to coming to the attention of senior management
• Narcissists will struggle to work cooperatively with others.They may cretre situations where they thrive so that others fail
• If they are challenged,they may respond with bullying tactics and blame others for failing to recognise their qualities