The Arab Spring movement shows that people in the Middle East and elsewhere want leaders who are more flexible, coherent and transparent. This collection of essays explores the concept of leadership and proposes ways to learn to be a great leader and avoid the mistakes of the past in this academic work. Edited by 'efika 'ule Erçetin, one of the leading thinkers in Turkey, it offers insights on leadership from numerous contributors. The essays consider the characteristics of exceptional leaders, the traits that prevent leaders from succeeding, predictions about how leadership will change in the future, and inherent differences between leaders and followers. These essays also detail the differences between management and leadership and examine the debate on whether managers can consistently be great leaders. Some say leaders possess innate qualities, but there is also evidence to suggest that anyone can hone their skills to become a successful leader. In coming years, leadership on the political stage and other areas will be more critical than ever. Regardless of whether you are a CEO, middle-level executive, aspiring leader, or student, it is critical to hone your skills through Discussions about Leadership.

DISCUSSIONS ABOUT LEADERSHIP

In Different Fields

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Sefika Sule Erçetin
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-5549-1

Contents

1. Narcissistic Leaders Sefika Sule Erçetin & Mehmet Ali Hamedolu & Suay Nilhan Açikalin..........................................................................................12. Leadership In Teaching And Management In Classroom Settings Esin Acar....................................................................................................................143. The Leadership Concept In The 21st Century Ahmet Akbaba..................................................................................................................................274. New Leadership Approaches Ihsan Çapçiolu & Mehmet Cem Sahin & Emine Gümüs............................................................................................415. Charismatic Authority And Religious Leadership In The Sociology Of Max Weber Mehmet Cem Sahin & Nuran Erdogruca Korkmaz & Ihsan Çapçioglu......................................736. Leadership And Learning To Learn Melek Demirel...........................................................................................................................................1007. Management Styles Of The Future: Leadership And Teams Hasan Basri Gündüz.......................................................................................................1238. Leadership From The Aspect Of Personality Theories Murat Iskender........................................................................................................................1569. Cultural Leadership Saduman Kapusuzoglu..................................................................................................................................................18410. Women, Leadership And Change Ilknur Maya................................................................................................................................................21111. Fossil Leadership Ünsal Sigri......................................................................................................................................................24112. Leadership And Traditional Leadership Approaches Ihsan Çapçiolu & Emine Gümü & Mehmet Cem Sahin.....................................................................24813. Historical Projection Of The Leadership Concept In The Third Millenium: Fatih Sultan Mehmet And Atatürk As Transformational Leaders Akif Tabak & Mustafa Polat.....................28614. Educational Leadership And The Leader-Teacher Relationship Mehmet Teyfur................................................................................................................30715. New Roles And Duties Of Principals As Leaders In The 21st Century Ömer Faruk Tutkun & Yasemin Aksoyalp.............................................................................32516. The Role Of The School Leaders As Mentor Leaders And Mentorship Curricula Meltem Yalin Uçar........................................................................................35017. Current Leadership Paradigms Nursel Yardibi.............................................................................................................................................374

Chapter One

NARCISSISTIC LEADERS

Sefika Sule Erçetin & Mehmet Ali Hamedoglu & Suay Nilhan Açikalin

What is Narcissism?

Narcissism means "loving yourself" in psychoanalysis. It isn't pathological on its own. Much like simply possessing various desires and experiencing distress about internal experiences, it is a normal psychological condition. Actually healthy narcissism is an obligation for a person to stay alive, work and maintain a strong personality. But, when narcissism encounters obstacles, it can create an erratic or congested kind of love of the self. When love of the self is exaggerated, people are prone to things like "repeated ideas, behaviors and patterns of feeling", which can be summarized as a "narcissistic personality". This kind of people thinks that they are peerless and very important. This makes them feel strong and it causes them to act like they are better than other people.

One of the most basic examples of narcissism is the attitude of a person about his/her appearance. Most people love the form of their own body and face. When we ask people "whether they would prefer to be in the place of another person who is more beautiful or not" most of them say no. It is clear that this is not a matter of aesthetics. (Fromm, 1982, p. 65).

Narcissists are usually known as helpful and kind people because they act like they are. They spend their time admiring themselves instead of understanding the people they help.

Freud's ideas about narcissism are based on the "sexual energy" concept. But, a mechanical "sexual energy" concept does not allow for a proper definition of "narcissism". It can be more effective to refer to narcissism as "spiritual energy". Jung did this. Some aspects of Freud's ideas about sexual libido are accepted. But, though the non-spiritual sexual energy idea of Freud is separate from libido theory it is a similar concept to that of libido. This term includes a spiritual power that has clear density, direction and the visible indicators. This energy, in addition to outside relations, also affects a person's own life. Freud's first idea claims that in addition to the drive of being alive, sexual drive is the only important one. This idea is not widely accepted. Instead, more general spiritual energy concepts are used. The difference between them is not as big as most people want to think in a dogmatic approach (Fromm, 1982, p. 62).

How Can We Understand This Is a Narcissist Person?

Narcissists think that they talk about something really important even they are speaking about minor issues. They do not usually listen what others say, they are not interested in whether they are intelligent. They hide this by asking questions or acting like they are listening. When they are criticized they react in a touchy way. They ignore the validity of criticism, and they react with sadness and anger. In many cases narcissism can be hidden with attitudes like self-deprecation or humbleness. It is a frequent situation for a narcissistic person to use his/her humility to gain admiration. No matter what the different symptoms are, cutting the relationship off from the outside world is a common feature of all types of narcissism (Fromm, 1982, p. 68). Narcissist people create a feeling of inaccessibility with the things and people they interact with. They wear impenetrable armor. One must swear allegiance to them and they react positively to praise (Saydam, 1996, p. 420).

Development of Narcissism

Though people are under the influence of natural and social powers there are many other factors that affect them. They have limited desire, power and freedom for changing and transforming the world. The degree of desire and freedom doesn't matter here. The important thing is that they can't stand absolute passivity. Changing and transforming themselves isn't enough for such people. They want to leave their mark on the world, convert and change it. This need emerges in relation to art and sexuality. All of these are the results of people' desire to focus on an aim and keep trying until reaching that aim. Using self-power on this way is an important ability. People can be considered weak when they can't initiate an action because...