Article by 👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽 They didn’t mastermind your takedown. They reacted to your presence. When you’re scapegoated by a narcissistic leader, it can feel like there must have been a plan. Like the cold shoulders, vague criticisms, and sudden exclusions were part of a calculated, coordinated effort. Like the betrayal was intentional, strategic, and deeply personal. But here’s what’s even harder to accept: Most of these leaders aren’t smart enough to pull that off. They’re not calculating in the way dark triad personalities (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) often are. They’re not quietly moving chess pieces behind the scenes. They’re operating on impulse, insecurity, and a kind of emotional autopilot that is entirely focused on one thing: protecting their image at all costs. They don’t lead with vision - they lead with panic. They don’t manage complexity -they manage perception. They don’t regulate their teams - they regulate their own ego, through whoever threatens it. So when someone like you walks in, calm, clear, organised, and grounded in conviction rather than performance and ego stroking savvy, it sends them into emotional disarray. You don’t orbit them. You don’t react to their moods. You don’t need their approval to function. You represent everything they can’t hold: Stability. Integrity. Emotional clarity. Your mere presence becomes intolerable because it makes their emotional fragility visible. So no, they didn’t plan your exit. But the moment they felt eclipsed, they needed to restore the emotional order. And in their system, that means you either shrink, orbit, or disappear