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Dean B. McFarlin and Paul D. Sweeney. House of Mirrors: The Untold Truth About Narcissistic Leaders and How to Survive Them. London: Kogan Page, 2000. 275 pages, $24.95.
Reviewed by Anthony F Buono, Professor of Management and Sociology, McCallum Graduate School of Business, Bentley College, Waltham, MA.
A popular focus of many leadership books is on organizational prophets and visionaries, delving into the art of guiding companies toward corporate success. In stark contrast to these calls for versatile, flexible and principled leaders, House of Mirrors is about the dark and seamy side of organizational life. Far from the attractiveness of transformational and "magic" leaders--organizational heroes who inspire through a passionate commitment to larger values and purposes (e.g., Nadler & Tushman, 1989; Tichy & Devanna, 1986)-Dean McFarlin and Paul Sweeney focus on those individuals who pursue their "own selfish agendas" with "pathological egoism" and a complete disregard for those around them, "corporate vampires" who literally suck the life out of the companies they are purportedly serving. Far from the type of altruism and selfless-oriented goals called for by more idealistic depictions of leadership (e.g., Kanungo & Mendonca, 1996; Ulrich, Zenger, & Smallwood, 1999), this volume is about truly destructive individuals, narcissists capable of devastating employee motivation, team spirit, and company performance.
The volume is divided into four parts. The first section (one chapter) introduces us to the concept of narcissistic leaders. Although virtually everyone has probably experienced working for a bad boss, McFarlin and Sweeney argue that narcissistic leaders go well beyond poor performance or corporate ineptitude. Referred to as the "enemy," narcissistic leaders repeatedly humiliate, mortify, and outrage those who work for them with "brutal and overwhelming ferocity." Completely consumed by a desire to be seen as powerful and successful, these individuals will do whatever is takes-from lying and cheating to bullying and credit-- stealing to throwing temper tantrums-to get their way, so self-absorbed that they care about their own image to the literal exclusion of everything else. Such narcissistic leaders, they argue, are far more prevalent, long lasting and destructive than we would like to believe. As a way of underscoring the complexities associated with narcissistic tendencies, the chapter concludes with a brief note...