This makes me think of a straightforward example. As I was growing through the ranks of my company, I noticed that our prior CEO rarely put himself in the spotlight (presentations, news articles, etc.). He always put us in the spotlight. It always confused me - he’s the leader; he should be front and center.
Fast-forward to being the CEO. I now understand the purpose and how the alternative of MCS could be incredibly detrimental to my relationship with my team. I can see I make other CEOs uncomfortable, especially when I am not the one doing a big presentation but rather sitting back and watching my team do it.
I’ve learned that optics are really driven by insecurity. If I don’t put myself out front, what will others think of me? Will I have influence? The reality is that we just need to be genuine and intentional about when we choose to do so. The influence comes from others watching those behaviors and decisions.
You’re lucky to have had such good examples, and your people are lucky to have you. You’re right about insecurity and optics. It’s that need to be seen as the main chapter that separates the mere bosses from the leaders.
Thanks. I was glad to come across the concept of “main character syndrome” because it explains so much behavior I have seen. Not all narcissistic tendencies constitute full-blown narcissism.
This makes me think of a straightforward example. As I was growing through the ranks of my company, I noticed that our prior CEO rarely put himself in the spotlight (presentations, news articles, etc.). He always put us in the spotlight. It always confused me - he’s the leader; he should be front and center.
Fast-forward to being the CEO. I now understand the purpose and how the alternative of MCS could be incredibly detrimental to my relationship with my team. I can see I make other CEOs uncomfortable, especially when I am not the one doing a big presentation but rather sitting back and watching my team do it.
I’ve learned that optics are really driven by insecurity. If I don’t put myself out front, what will others think of me? Will I have influence? The reality is that we just need to be genuine and intentional about when we choose to do so. The influence comes from others watching those behaviors and decisions.
You’re lucky to have had such good examples, and your people are lucky to have you. You’re right about insecurity and optics. It’s that need to be seen as the main chapter that separates the mere bosses from the leaders.
This piece explains so much. I’ve had bosses that aren’t full narcissist, but I wasn’t sure how to think about them. This piece helps a great deal.
Thanks. I was glad to come across the concept of “main character syndrome” because it explains so much behavior I have seen. Not all narcissistic tendencies constitute full-blown narcissism.