Why We Fall For Narcissistic Leaders by Adam Grant

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This is a guest essay for the New York Times (12/29/25) by Dr. Adam Grant, who is a contributing Opinion writer, and an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

"Readers of a certain stripe will assume this is an article about President Trump. He is, after all, the man who has boasted, “I alone can fix it” and “I know more about ISIS than the generals do,” who exaggerated his wealth, refused to concede that he lost an election and described the brutal killing of a Hollywood couple as being somehow all about him. But my point is not about Mr. Trump per se; it’s about why people are attracted to him and so many others like him as leaders in politics and business right now."

Read the entire guest essay here.

Leadership Lessons from Dr. Adam Grant

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Last December, I [Dr. Adam Grant] asked my students at Wharton to nominate and vote on topics for our final class. The runaway top choice was leadership lessons from Elon Musk. It’s become a hot topic among the corporate elite, too. 

As an organizational psychologist, I’ve long admired the boldness of Mr. Musk’s vision, the intensity of his drive and the impact of his innovations in cars and rockets. But the way he deals with people would fail the leadership class I teach at his alma mater.  

Read the entire Opinion in The New York Times here.