When the narcissistic leader is in charge, there often is confusion among his followers with regard to the norms and values of the organization—this is where collusion and collaboration can become confused. The followers of a narcissistic leader will collaborate with one another in defending their leader against outside attack. This is where the sword and flight response are fused with the protective response: testosterone meets oxytocin. There is a more subtle form of intermixing between collusion and collaboration. The narcissistic leader is often quite charismatic and visionary—extolling the virtues of cooperation and selflessness. We see this often manifest among those narcissistic leaders who serve as gurus and create communes and other utopian communities.
The collaboration in this case is centered on emulation of the leader’s espoused collaborative values (even if the leader himself is actually self-centered and selfish). The oxytocin is alive and well, but it ultimately is bringing about the binding of commune members to reinforcement and accentuation of the self-centered image of their leader. Rather than the collaboration being engaged on behalf of the organization’s (commune’s) welfare, it is being engaged on behalf of the leader and his own welfare. This reversal of responsibilities parallels that of a narcissistic family: the child of a narcissistic parent comes to believe that he or she exists primarily for the welfare of the parent rather than the other way around where the parent believes that they are there to promote the welfare of the child. (Donaldson-Pressman and Pressman, 1994)
Those working under the narcissist (whether in a family or an organization) remain immature themselves. Men and women who are working for a narcissistic leader have often been working with this leader for many years and are absolutely in awe of her. They grow very little over many years in terms of their own proficiency, self-confidence or self-awareness: “little grows under a great tree”. They have been frozen in their own development—just as they are frozen in their expectations, contracts and covenants in the organization. This freeze might produce a false sense of collaboration and a strong sense of commitment to the mission of the narcissistic leader. In promoting collective intelligence, we are looking for much more in terms of genuine collaboration. We wish not only to enhance performance of the team and organization, but to encourage the continuing growth of each person participating in this collaborative relationship. I suspect this is what all of us want. We just need to discern the difference between collusion and collaboration—and act upon this discernment.
