Narcissists are poor leaders, but are mistaken for good leaders.

In a study at the University of Amsterdam, groups of fifty were assigned a leader and given the task of choosing a job candidate based on 45 items. Some of the 45 items were not given to all members of the group. After making their choice, in which the leader's decision was final, the leaders were tested to measure narcissism and the group members evaluated the leader's effectiveness. The more narcissistic leaders failed to elicit from their group the information needed to arrive at the best choice of who to hire, and they were also viewed as the best leaders.

This finding is relevant for US political and business failures.

"Narcissists are very convincing. They do tend to be picked as leaders. There's the danger: that people can be so wrong based on how others project themselves. You have to ask: Are the competencies they project valid, or are they merely in the eyes of the beholder?" says study author Barbora Nevicka, a PhD candidate in organizational psychology.

The study is summarized in the link below and will be published in the upcoming issue of Psychological Science.
Narcissists Look Like Good Leaders - But They Aren't!