Goal driven and wise: shedding light on the different shades of dark side leadership

Purpose This study examines how each dark triad trait (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) relates to dark side leadership by testing two theoretically linked intrapersonal moderators—goal-driven persistence and recognition of others' perspectives—and by comparing follower and manager evaluations of leaders' self-serving and manipulative behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected in two waves from 378 frontline leaders, their immediate managers (n = 378) and direct followers (n = 2,137) across multiple industries. Leaders self-reported dark triad traits and the two moderators; one month later, managers and followers rated leaders on self-serving and manipulative leadership. Aggregated follower scores were justified via intraclass correlations, and moderation was tested with PROCESS Model 1. Findings Narcissism was positively related to follower-rated self-serving leadership, while Machiavellianism was positively related to manager-rated manipulative leadership. These main effects intensified in leaders with low goal-driven persistence and weakened when goal-driven persistence was high. Psychopathy was unrelated to self-serving leadership, but followers of psychopathic leaders with high recognition of others' perspectives viewed them as less self-serving. Supplementary analyses confirmed the utility of self-serving and manipulative leadership over abusive supervision as a behavioral indicator of dark side leadership. Originality/value This study utilizes reinforcement sensitivity theory and wise reasoning research to reveal how leader personality and abilities can mask or accentuate dark triad tendencies, offering a nuanced account of dark leadership perceptions. By disentangling follower and manager perspectives and by operationalising dark side leadership with conceptually aligned behaviors, it advances theory and identifies actionable levers—goal persistence and perspective taking—for leadership assessment and development.