Most people think “narcissism” is a stable characteristic or personality type. In popular conceptions, narcissists are excessively self-centered, self-absorbed, entitled, and willing to exploit others to reach their goals. And that definition is partly right, but only partly. Narcissism really does represent an excessive focus on the self that can lead to toxic social behaviors and poor workplace outcomes. Though narcissists may initially seem charismatic, charming, and leader-like, over time the facade tends to crack, revealing a fragile and needy ego that craves admiration and validation by one and all.

But as it turns out, even narcissists have their nuances, and one of them is the capacity for humility. Being humble may sound totally outside the wheelhouses of folks with strong narcissistic tendencies, but research by my colleagues and I suggests that it isn’t. Indeed, overlooking this counterintuitive side to narcissism risks missing key lessons on what it takes to be an effective leader.

Related: The ridiculously simple, scientific way to test for narcissism

Narcissism’s nuances

There are a few common ways narcissism tends to be misunderstood. First, certain aspects of narcissism–extreme drive, self-confidence, and a desire to lead–have the potential to bring about productive results. It’s likely because of these potentially constructive qualities that researchers have found narcissistic leaders aren’t uniformly bad; their track records tend to be something of a mixed bag, leading to positive outcomes as well as negative ones.

Second, narcissism may not be as stable a trait as we may think. Recent social science suggests that narcissism may be a fluid quality that can be tempered in order to minimize its toxic potential and yield benefits instead. Extensive interviews with business leaders and empirical studies in both the U.S. and China suggest that workplace narcissism is something many people can tame or manage–by deliberately practicing humility.

Over the past 12 years, my colleagues and I have examined the developmental and positive benefits of humility, and we’ve found that humility is teachable. People can learn over time to acknowledge others’ strengths and own up to their own limits and mistakes. Through our work on “humble narcissism” (recently popularized by Adam Grant), or the condition of having a deep level of narcissism while working to mitigate it with humility, we’ve learned that humility isn’t a definite characteristic that you either have or you don’t.

Being humble is something you seek to understand–you try it, you practice it, and you eventually develop it–like a reflex, habit, or a skill. In fact, that’s the way Aristotle viewed virtues; they’re skills we choose to acquire rather than characteristics we innately possess.