They are everywhere. They wreak havoc on others careers, on projects.
I have seen some Narcissists so bad they literally should not be allowed to work with others at all. Some of them don't unless they have someone to manipulate or something they can't avoid.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder co-,workers aren't even human. They have zero empathy which makes you not human in my book.
the CTO has raised this to a new level. Entitled beyond belief.
HR is not there to protect you…they will protect the desired diversity profile of executive management - diversity at all costs. That keeps the Diversity Awards coming!
That VP sounds like a member of a protected class…can’t be fired.
Yes, and being a woman of color should not be a “fire-proof” shield. HR has a responsibility to protect workers not the optics of being a leader in diversity within leadership!
If I were to ever look up narcissist in the dictionary I am quite sure I would see a picture of my old CRM VP. She made it her life's mission to make people's lives miserable and it was disgusting to watch. Reading these comments I have now decided that it wouldn't be one picture under the definition but probably looks more like a yearbook of pictures! How many HR allegations do they get before they get bounced because I believe this one is up to 4 and she's still there. Thankfully I am not.
Lack of empathy is a survival tactic but very personally damaging.
NPD is a spectrum. The ones on the high end of the spectrum cause a great deal of pain for those who have life issues you can't understand unless you walked in those shoes. As a person who has such issues, I see the damage on a very personal level.
They can also achieve a lot. Look at the president. The most classic Overt Grandiose Narcissist example I can think of but at least he has some self deprecating humor at times. The NPDs that can't do that or ever admit past mistakes or change their mind are the worst.
I know a lot of people who have made a career at Medtronic. If you don't care about what you do, I just can't understand that. I do. We aren't making dollar store novelty toys here.
This is people's health and lives at stake. It's not all about me. It sounds like the "just making a living" attitude is the type of selfish behavior I have seen from coasters who make my work life more stressful.
The narcissists don't care because they are naturally selfish. Great post about Steve Jobs. They are capable of doing great things and true narcissism has a very sad origin in most people but still, the damage they cause is undeniable.
I do agree that MDT is not a great place to make a career because in my experience, the employee's development and career are not really cared about at all. That sometimes makes it really hard to care.
Why are you wasting your time thinking about this? The place is filled with incompetence and delusions. Collect the paycheck and coast! Medtronic is not a place to make a career, it’s to make a living
There is karma for narcissists. Eventually, what comes around goes around. When I was young I worked with a guy who had been at Apple in the early to mid 1980s. He told me of Steve Jobs who was the penultimate narcissist of his time. Steve had severe issues with anger management. He often verbally abused his employees. At times, he would single out an engineer to humiliate in front of a meeting.
Sometimes, Steve Jobs blatantly fired employees impromptu. He also worked them with grueling long hours. When I had seen the film "Pirates of Silicon Valley", I had thought it was a Hollywood exaggeration for dramatic effect. But my co-worker told me Steve was actually worse than shown. It was bad enough people often didn't want to get in an elevator with Steve Jobs.
But the co-worker also pointed out Steve was indeed fired by the board after he got into a major power struggle with John Sculley. It was shown in the films "Jobs" (2013) and "Steve Jobs" (20150 by different actors. It happened in real life.
So, there usually is an inner psychological basis for narcissism. In Steve Jobs' case, he admitted that since he was given up for adoption, there was a feeling of powerlessness in that moment that haunted him as an adult. He had an overwhelming urge for control, micro-management, firing, abusive behavior, etc. In the end, it caught up with him. Then he got cancer. Steve Jobs isn't even alive anymore. But there was a time when he on top of the computer industry with NPD. RIP to the troubled sole he was.
In conclusion, if you have issues with narcissists in your proximity, one has to wonder what will happen to them in the future? At some point, karma will likely show up as it did for Jobs. I have seen similar examples in my career. I recall a manager who fired consultants with no due process at Lucent. That company doesn't even exist anymore. They went down in the tech bubble of the early 2000s - karma.
I have had the biggest Overt Grandiose Narcissist as a manager and people still deny it. There are some absolute mo--ns here who don't understand psychology. He would constantly announce his high level prestigious education and met literally all the criteria of a Narcissism in spades. He was forced to retire after ruining the careers and lives of so many and he tried to guilt trip me over it. It he was a high achiever so it was absolutely ignored. No coaching they were just allowed to endlessly abuse people.
Under his wing was a Covert Narcissist female. She is turning out just as bad but nowhere near as accomplished or articulate. I have told a few smart people she is covert narcissist, listed the 10 criteria and she matches all in spades and they still can't see it. Kind of like how people denied Biden was brain dead or people deny Trump is a severe Narcissist. It's willful ignorance at this point.
The public needs to be aware of these people and the abuse they cause. We need to be taught more psychology in schools and the type of psychology that allows you to have enough education and foresight so that more unwitting victims do not fall into a marriage with a Narcissist. I have had 2 covert narcissistics and 1 overt grandiose in my last 3 bosses, probably more but I don't throw that word out with being absolutely sure. It took me forever to diagnose the coverts and I feel like a fool.
I am ready to retire at this point and live a lesser life because of it. I am developing a narcissist indicating set of questions for all interviews going forward and am out of here as soon as possible.
Employee relations tried to "coach" my narcissistic abuser bully boss for years (i.e., gave them narcissistic supply to use to retaliate against me), then they promoted them into a higher level role. You will never win against these people. Especially if they are a covert, nobody will believe you. Your mental health will suffer as they gaslight your reality.
This company is not alone. It's everywhere. With the looming recession, it will only get worse. Everyone will do anything like throwing someone under the bus to make sure they won't be RIF.
Axis II personality disorders (see DSM-5) tend to gravitate towards positions of power. A lack of empathy or reduced empathy helps them to be comfortable to do whatever it takes to get ahead. Not all people in high level leadership have personality disorders but a good number of them do.