Interview: Top-Headhunter Heiner Thorborg: „80 Prozent der oberen Etagen bestehen aus Narzissten“

Heiner Thorborg, one of Germany's most influential headhunters for four decades, has written a best-selling book analyzing real cases and criticizing his own profession. In an interview with the Handelsblatt, Thorborg stated that "80 percent of top positions consist of narcissists." He noted that "things used to be worse in the past," citing factors such as high energy prices, bureaucracy, innovation fatigue, the crisis in the automotive industry, Trump's trade policies, Putin, the Alternative for Germany party, and fears of war. However, Thorborg emphasized that poor leadership is the real culprit.

Thorborg cited the case of Bayer and Monsanto, where the takeover of the US seed company left the company uncertain and unable to recover. He attributed this failure to the arrogance of the then-chairman Werner Baumann, who received full support from the supervisory board chairman Werner Wenning. Thorborg warned that this is not an isolated incident and that 80 percent of top-level executives in German companies are narcissists, often believing they are infallible and rejecting criticism as sacrilegious.

He suggested that the problem lies at the highest level of the board, with supervisory board chairmen often being narcissists themselves, who claim they have the final say in selecting candidates.

According to Thorborg, the solution lies in breaking the cycle of narcissism at the top, starting with the supervisory board chairmen. He believes that these individuals have an oversimplified view of their role and fail to recognize the importance of external input and references. Thorborg emphasized that his book is both an autobiography and a critical analysis of the headhunting industry, highlighting the importance of empathy in leadership and the need for transparency in the headhunting profession.