How narcissism ruins teamwork - and why it matters in the workplace

Teamwork can bring out both the best and the worst in people. Working together means sharing ideas and coordinating actions. But sometimes, it can also involve swallowing pride, particularly when people with strong personalities, such as those with narcissism, take charge.

- CLAIRE HART and REECE BUSH-EVANS

In our new study, we explored how grandiose narcissism — the inflated belief that you're brighter, bolder, and more capable than everyone else — affects cooperation in a team.

Instead of running surveys in a lab, we took narcissism into the wild: with more than 100 people locked in commercial escape rooms, racing the clock to solve puzzles together.

Personality psychologists distinguish between two sides of grandiose narcissism. Narcissistic admiration is the charming, confident, magnetic side that wins people over. Narcissistic rivalry, by contrast, is the defensive, combative side — quick to take offence when its status feels threatened.

Both protect a grandiose self-image, but in different ways: admiration draws people in, rivalry pushes them away. We wanted to see which side helps or harms teamwork when the pressure’s on.

THE ESCAPE-ROOM EXPERIMENT

Participants were split into small teams of four or five, most meeting for the first time. After a quick icebreaker, they entered a jungle-themed escape room with 60 minutes to find clues and escape. Success depended on communication, trust, and problem-solving: exactly what makes real-world teams thrive.

Before and after the escape-room challenge, players rated themselves and one another on traits like likeability, empathy, and confidence. This let us see how first impressions held up when the pressure kicked in.