Blog

Nov 12, 2024, 03:45

Sachin Jain: Organizational narcissism creates an undeniable pride and esprit de corps

Sachin Jain, President and CEO of SCAN Group, posted on LinkedIn:

“There is an undeniable heightened awareness these days of narcissists and their potential negative impact on organizations and people.

What is discussed far less is what I call ‘narcissistic institutions.’

And, yet, many institutions—corporations, teams, groups, nonprofits, governments, universities, social movements—are indeed incorrigeably self-centered.

Narcissistic institutions deeply see the world through their own lenses—impervious to external forces and realities.

They measure their competitive positioning in absolutes (‘we are the best’) without regard to objective natural comparisons.

They believe their people or their culture are somehow innately exceptional.

The possibility that there may be something to learn from others is deeply objectionable and borderline offensive.

Organizational narcissism isn’t all bad.

It creates an undeniable pride and esprit de corps.

And when tied to high ambition and high internal standards-can produce outsized results.

However, it may also create blind spots and arrogance where there should be curiosity and creativity.

It can create diminished innovation when it is required.

And it can create a false sense of accomplishment and place for institutional believers who don’t know any better.

The origin of narcisssitic institutions is complex.

Sometimes it arises from a narcisssitic leader or leaders who build a culture in their own image.

But, often it is derived from an institutional narrative or founding story that is simultaneously aligning and self-reinforcing.

The job of institutional leaders is to use these stories when helpful to a goal—and shed them when they are not.

The latter—shedding—is far more complicated and complex than most know or acknowledge.”

Sachin H. Jain is the President and CEO of SCAN Group and Health Plan and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He also serves as a Board Member at The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans, an Academic Hospitalist (WOC) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and a Board Member at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). He is also a board member of Omada Health.