Research colloquium Narcissism and leadership: An overview, three claims, and ideas for future research

Leadership is, amongst other things, a question of personality. A personality trait often associated with leadership is narcissism. But while the concept of narcissism is often used, it is also often misused.  This is because is it not a uniform concept, but rather encompasses various aspects. How narcissistic leadership manifests itself therefore depends on the specific form of narcissism.

In this research colloquium, Prof. Dr Birgit Schyns introduces the personality trait of narcissism and demonstrates how it relates to (negative) leadership. Drawing on current research, she examines how narcissistic leadership manifests itself depending on the severity and dimensions of narcissism, and how this relates to the motivation for leadership and destructive leadership. Furthermore, Birgit Schyns will highlight gaps in our understanding and open research questions, and discuss the impact of new ways of working and technological developments – such as working from home or artificial intelligence – and what this means for employees.

The research colloquium will be held in English.

We look forward to your participation and to exchanging ideas with you!

When?
Tuesday, November 24th 2026, 12.00–13.00 

Where?
Online via Zoom (you will receive the link in the confirmation email after registering)

Who?
Birgit Schyns is a Professor of Organisational Behaviour at NEOMA Business School, Paris. She joined NEOMA in 2017 after serving at Durham University in the UK and holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Leipzig, Germany, which she received in 2001. Her research focuses mainly on leadership and followership, with a particular interest in how employees perceive and experience their leaders. She has also done extensive work on the dark side of leadership, including destructive and abusive leadership, narcissism, and leader–follower relationships. She has published widely in leading journals and is well known internationally for her research on leadership and followership.