How can you get a team to be more creative. It takes all sorts, they say, but one sort is particularly valuable to creativity… as long as there are two of them.
Narcissists
Narcissists can be flamboyant, gregarious, even exhibitionist. they range from charismatic and highly social individuals who can be charming and elegant, to people with narcissistic personality disorder, who show stunning grandiosity, demand attention, and are manipulative and quick to anger if they don’t receive the attention they demand.
Research at Cornell University, led by psychologist Jack Goncalo, working with Cornell Ph.D. student Sharon H. Kim and Stanford University Professor Francis J. Flynn, looked at how creative narcissists are.
Narcissists and Creativity
It is often believed that narcissists are highly creative, because their ideas are frequently adopted. However, the researchers showed that this is not true and that narcissists are no more nor less creative than others. They simply pitch their ideas better.
But…
If you have two narcissists on the team, then their natural competitiveness is disruptive in a good way, creating a highly creative atmosphere. However, two narcissist is an ideal number, because if there are too many, the competitiveness over-rides the creativity, and can disrupt group processes so much that it becomes dysfunctional.
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Resources
- More information: Summary article in the Cornell Chronicle
- The full facts: Original Paper hosted at the Cornell website (legitimate download)
- How narcissistic are you? Online Narcissism Test
