When Narcissism Becomes the Culture

"When a group gathers around a narcissistic, charismatic figure in a company, a start-up, a spiritual community, a political structure, or even a family system, the personality of the leader often becomes the blueprint for belonging. Over time, followers begin to mirror the leader's stance toward status, accountability, and empathy (or lack thereof), even when those positions clash with their previously held values and natural traits."

"Acquired narcissism describes how a leader's self-protective habits, such as entitlement, grandiose certainty, or contempt for dissent, diffuse into group norms. The mechanism is not a mystical transfusion of the leader's internal values, but a systematic erosion over time. Human beings naturally seek safety, significance, and coherence, and charisma organizes these needs by fusing the leader's vision with the follower's self-concept, which makes imitation feel like conviction rather than compliance (Shamir, House, & Arthur, 1993)."

Groups that coalesce around charismatic, narcissistic leaders tend to take on the leader's stance toward status, accountability, and empathy, even when those positions conflict with members' prior values. Followers gradually mirror entitlement, grandiose certainty, and contempt for dissent, producing a cultural pattern labeled acquired narcissism. Charisma fuses leader vision with follower self-concept so imitation begins to feel like conviction. Small cumulative shifts teach which emotions earn approval and soften objections. Groupthink suppresses dissent and elevates loyalty and image into organizational ethics. Countermeasures include protected dissent channels, rotating voice, and integrity-based rewards.

Read at Psychology Today