The Narcissist – Taking Credit – Shifting the Blame

The high-level narcissist is a master at taking credit, whether deserved or not, and shifting the blame, whether justified or not. After all, in their minds, they are entitled to all the credit for success, and since they are not at fault, they cannot be blamed for failure. These narcissistic characteristics can best be demonstrated with a few examples.

Robert was the General Counsel of a publicly traded corporate conglomerate. His in-house legal staff included lawyers who handled the company’s litigation. Robert was a fantastic armchair litigator. From his comfortable leather chair in his corner office with a panoramic view, he could successfully argue any case and in these mock courtroom scenarios he always “won” the case. From time to time, it was inevitable that one of the deputy general counsel assigned to the litigation department would approach Robert about appearing in actual court. Robert would suddenly disappear citing other pressing matters until the court proceedings were over.

When the firm was successful in litigation, Robert would tell colleagues, friends, and even strangers sitting on the next stool in some prestigious bar how his brilliant strategy resulted in a fantastic victory in a hard-fought case. On those occasions when the judge or jury returned a verdict adverse to the company, Robert was quick to find fault with the litigator assigned to the case and point out how the outcome would have been different had he personally handled the trial alone.

Jay ran the production department of a major television studio. The biggest times of the year in the world of television are the pilot season, when shows for the coming year are selected, and the sweep weeks, when show ratings dictate ad revenue. Jay was never easy to live with, but during these two times of the year he was insufferable. When a selected pilot turned out to be successful, it was due to Jay’s brilliant decision to air the show. When grades crashed, somehow it was always the result of some bad advice he took from a subordinate. Similarly, during sweep weeks, the decision to have a controversial topic on a sitcom, such as an unwanted pregnancy, when it succeeded was Jay’s idea and when it resulted in bad reviews and low ratings it was someone else’s fault. . Although Robert and Jay’s fake behavior seems transparent, these narcissists are often rewarded materially in the business world.

This cycle of Taking Credit – Shifting Blame speaks to the extraordinary sense of entitlement of the narcissist. When working or living with these people, it is instructive to be very aware of the narcissist’s total focus on what he wants and knows he deserves. The needs, merit, hard work, sacrifices and feelings of others are inconsequential. This is the narcissist’s game: he makes up the rules and cashes in all the chips.