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Forbes
7 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How To Handle Narcissism And Egos In The Workplace
By Levi King The goal is to create a balanced workplace culture that harnesses ambition. Once upon a time, I was at a big conference with several members of my executive team at the time. The conference was just wrapping up when I spotted one of them—I'll call him Maurice—standing in a corner chatting with a fellow from a different company. I'd worked with Maurice for years at this point. We didn't have a lot in common in terms of where we grew up, what schools we attended, and many other things that make up for one's basic life experience, but I trusted him as a colleague and thought of him as a friend. Just as I neared Maurice and the guy he was chatting with, I heard the latter say something that stopped me in my tracks: 'I'm sorry you have to work with that schmuck Levi. It sounds like it's been a terrible experience and I hope you can continue to make up for his bungling and keep things running smoothly over there.' This is how I discovered that a trusted colleague and friend had been tearing me down behind my back for reasons which didn't come to light until later, but which basically boiled down to outsized ego and ambition. It won't come as a big surprise to anyone who's ever worked in corporate America to realize that many folks outside of our world perceive many folk in it as big-headed braggadocious monsters. The competition is intense and the rewards high. But Maurice, I think, represents something more than simply white collar Darwinism. Narcissism and big egos are often conflated in discussions about problematic workplace behavior, but they represent distinct psychological phenomena with important differences in how they manifest and impact organizations. While both can create challenges in professional settings, understanding the nuances between narcissism and big egos is crucial for effectively managing workplace dynamics and fostering a healthy organizational culture. Narcissism is a personality trait characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, a constant need for admiration, and a lack of empathy for others. In the workplace, narcissistic individuals often display an overwhelming sense of superiority and entitlement. They crave attention and validation, constantly seeking praise and recognition for their achievements, even at the expense of others. Narcissists in professional settings tend to exhibit several key behaviors: The impact of narcissism on workplace dynamics can be severe. It often leads to decreased morale among colleagues, dysfunctional communication, and a breakdown in teamwork. Narcissistic leaders, in particular, can create toxic work environments by prioritizing their personal goals over the team's success and stifling creativity and innovation by dismissing others' ideas. While related to narcissism, a big ego in the workplace is a distinct concept. Individuals with big egos display excessive pride in their abilities and accomplishments, often leading to arrogance and overconfidence. Unlike narcissism, which is rooted in deep-seated insecurity, a big ego stems from an inflated sense of self-worth that may or may not be justified by actual achievements. Key characteristics of individuals with big egos in the workplace include: While big egos can drive individuals to achieve great things, they can also create friction within teams and hinder collaborative efforts. The impact on workplace dynamics, while potentially disruptive, is often less severe and pervasive than that of narcissism. The primary distinctions between narcissism and big egos in the workplace lie in their underlying motivations and the extent of their impact: Narcissists fundamentally lack empathy, whereas individuals with big egos may still possess the capacity for empathy, even if it's overshadowed by their inflated self-image. Narcissists have an insatiable need for admiration and validation from others, while those with big egos may be more self-contained in their sense of superiority. Narcissists are more likely to engage in calculated manipulation and exploitation of others, whereas big egos might unintentionally alienate colleagues through their arrogance. Narcissists react to criticism with intense defensiveness or rage, viewing it as a threat to their self-image. Those with big egos may be dismissive of criticism but are less likely to react with hostility. Narcissistic leaders can fundamentally alter an organization's culture, creating lasting damage even after their departure. Big egos, while problematic, typically have a more localized impact on immediate team dynamics. More from AllBusiness: Addressing narcissism and big egos in the workplace requires different approaches. For narcissism: For big egos: While both narcissism and big egos can create challenges in the workplace, understanding their distinct characteristics is crucial for effective management. Narcissism represents a more pervasive and potentially damaging force, capable of undermining organizational culture and team dynamics at a fundamental level. Big egos, while problematic, are often more manageable and may even drive positive outcomes when properly channeled. By recognizing these differences, leaders and HR professionals can develop targeted strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of both narcissism and big egos, fostering a more collaborative, innovative, and psychologically safe work environment. Ultimately, the goal is to create a balanced workplace culture that harnesses the drive and ambition often associated with strong personalities while ensuring that these traits don't come at the expense of teamwork, empathy, and overall organizational health. Being blindsided at a work conference certainly wasn't fun, but the real consequences of Maurice's narcissism ultimately proved to be much more serious. The more you learn to tell the difference between good old-fashioned ego and something more sinister, the less likely it is you'll waste months—even years—working alongside people who are pulling things down just as quickly as you are building them up.
Forbes
31-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Is Flawed AI Distorting Executive Judgment? — What Leaders Must Do
The AI symbol sits at the heart of a circle formed by bright yellow foldable caution signs adorned ... More with exclamation marks. This image creatively conveys the urgent need for awareness and careful consideration of AI's rapid growth and its implications. The design's high impact, with its strong contrast and focal point, makes it an effective tool for raising awareness or sparking conversations around technology, security, and innovation. Perfect for customizable content with plenty of space for additional messaging or branding. As AI embeds deeper into leadership workflows, a subtle form of decision drift is taking hold. Not because the tools are flawed but because we stop questioning them. Their polish is seductive. Their speed, persuasive. But when language replaces thought, clarity no longer guarantees correctness. In July 2023, the Chicago Sun-Times published an AI-generated summer reading list. The summaries were articulate. The titles sounded plausible. But only five of the fifteen books were real. The rest? Entirely made up: fictional authors, fabricated plots, polished prose built on nothing. It sounded smart. It wasn't. That's the risk. Now imagine an executive team building its strategy on the same kind of output. It's not fiction anymore. It's a leadership risk. And it's happening already. Quietly. Perceptibly. In organizations where clarity once meant confidence and strategy was something you trusted. Not just in made-up book titles but in the growing gap between what sounds clear and what's actually correct. Large language models aren't fact checkers. They're pattern matchers. They generate language based on probability, not precision. What sounds coherent may not be correct. The result is a stream of outputs that look strategic but rest on shaky ground. This isn't a call to abandon AI. But it is a call to re-anchor how we use it. To ensure leaders stay accountable. To ensure AI stays a tool, not a crutch. I'm not saying AI shouldn't inform decisions. But it must be paired with human intuition, sense making and real dialogue. The more confident the language, the more likely it is to go unquestioned. Model collapse is no longer theoretical. It's already happening. It begins when models are trained on outputs from other models or worse, on their own recycled content. Over time, distortions multiply. Edge cases vanish. Rare insights decay. Feedback loops breed repetition. Sameness. False certainty. Businessman with white cloud instead of head on blue background. Businessman and management. ... More Business and commerce. Digital art. As The Register warned, general purpose AI may already be declining in quality, not in tone but in substance. What remains looks fluent. But it says less. That's just the mechanical part. The deeper concern is how this affects leaders. When models feed on synthetic data and leaders feed on those outputs, what you get isn't insight. It's reflection. Strategy becomes a mirror, not a map. And we're not just talking bias or hallucinations. As copyright restrictions tighten and human-created content slows, the pool of original data shrinks. What's left is synthetic material recycled over and over. More polish. Less spark. According to researchers at Epoch, high quality training data could be exhausted by 2026 to 2032. When that happens, models won't be learning from the best of what we know. They'll be learning from echoes. Developers are trying to slow this collapse. Many already are, by protecting non-AI data sources, refining synthetic inputs and strengthening governance. But the impending collapse signals something deeper. A reminder that the future of intelligence must remain blended — human machine, not machine alone. Intuitive, grounded and real. Psychologists like Kahneman and Tversky warned us long ago about the framing trap: the way a question is asked shapes the answer. A 20 percent chance of failure feels different than an 80 percent chance of success, even if it's the same data. AI makes this trap faster and more dangerous. Because now, the frame itself is machine generated. A biased prompt. A skewed training set. A hallucinated answer. And suddenly, a strategy is shaped by a version of reality that never existed. Ask AI to model a workforce reduction plan. If the prompt centers on financials, the reply may omit morale, long-term hiring costs or reputational damage. The numbers work. The human cost disappears. AI doesn't interrupt. It doesn't question. It reflects. If a leader seeks validation, AI will offer it. The tone will align. The logic will sound smooth. But real insight rarely feels that easy. That's the risk — not that AI is wrong, but that it's too easily accepted as right. When leaders stop questioning and teams stop challenging, AI becomes a mirror. It reinforces assumptions. It amplifies bias. It removes friction. That's how decision drift begins. Dialogue becomes output. Judgment becomes approval. Teams fall quiet. Cultures that once celebrated debate grow obedient. And something more vital begins to erode: intuition. The human instinct for context. The sense of timing. The inner voice that says something's off. It all gets buried beneath synthetic certainty. To stop flawed decisions from quietly passing through AI-assisted workflows, every leader should ask: AI-generated content is already shaping board decks, culture statements and draft policies. In fast-paced settings, it's tempting to treat that output as good enough. But when persuasive language gets mistaken for sound judgment, it doesn't stay in draft mode. It becomes action. Garbage in. Polished out. Then passed as policy. This isn't about intent. It's about erosion. Quiet erosion in systems that reward speed, efficiency and ease over thoughtfulness. And then there's the flattery trap. Ask AI to summarize a plan or validate a strategy, and it often echoes the assumptions behind the prompt. The result? A flawed idea wrapped in confidence. No tension. No resistance. Just affirmation. That's how good decisions fail — quietly, smoothly and without a single raised hand in the room. Leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about staying close to what's real and creating space for others to do the same. The deeper risk of AI isn't just in false outputs. It's in the cultural drift that happens when human judgment fades. Questions stop. Dialogue thins. Dissent vanishes. Leaders must protect what AI can't replicate — the ability to sense what's missing. To hear what's not said. To pause before acting. To stay with complexity. AI can generate content. But it can't generate wisdom. The solution isn't less AI. It's better leadership. Leaders who use AI not as final word but as provocateur. As friction. As spark. In fact, human-generated content will only grow in value. Craft will matter more than code. What we'll need most is original thought, deep conversation and meaning making — not regurgitated text that sounds sharp but says nothing new. Because when it comes to decisions that shape people, culture and strategy, only human judgment connects the dots that data can't see. In the end, strategy isn't what you write. It's what you see. And to see clearly in the age of AI, you'll need more than a prompt. You'll need presence. You'll need discernment. Neither can be AI trained. Neither can be outsourced.
Globe and Mail
14-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
SPIRE Academy Taps NBA, NFL, and UFC Alumni to Lead Its Next Chapter of Commercialization and Player Partnerships
New Hires Bring Emmy-Winning Talent, Major League Experience, and NIL Fluency to Drive SPIRE's Brand Forward GENEVA, Ohio and HARPERSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio, May 14, 2025 /CNW/ - SPIRE Academy, a premier multisport boarding school and athletic training institution, has added three nationally recognized leaders to its executive team. These hires reflect SPIRE's focused strategy to strengthen brand partnerships, expand media operations, and deliver athlete development programs aligned with today's NIL-driven sports landscape.
