In this Advisor, organizational psychologist William Spangler delves into how CEOs’ humility and narcissism influence their behavior. Utilizing a sample of 190 CEOs and data collected from interviews and public sources, Spangler introduces eight diverse CEO archetypes and shows how humility moderates narcissistic tendencies, reducing the propensity to engage in dysfunctional and negative leader behaviors.

Study Results

Eight homogeneous, mutually exclusive groups of CEOs emerged from the data analysis (summarized in Table 1):

1. Traditional CEOs (low humility, low narcissism, non-entrepreneurs) — individuals who had worked their way up the ranks of traditional companies, such as ExxonMobil, Valero Energy, Archer Daniels Midland, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, and Coca-Cola. Four of 46 had been implicated in one or more forms of dysfunctional behavior.

2. Entrepreneurs (low humility, low narcissism, entrepreneurs) — included Robert Walter (Cardinal Health), Charles Ergen (Dish Network), Shawn Fanning (Napster), and Chad Hurley (YouTube). Two of seven reputedly had engaged in dysfunctional behavior.

3. Destructive narcissists (low humility, high narcissism, non-entrepreneurs) — included Joseph Nacchio (Qwest), Mark Hurd (HP), Brian Krzanich (Intel), and James Cayne (Bear Stearns). Five of the six CEOs in this group had been implicated in dysfunctional behavior, including decisions leading to the demise of their organization, toxic policies, sexual harassment cover-up, conviction on 19 counts of insider trading, and resignation after an affair with an employee.

4. Destructive entrepreneurs (low humility, high narcissism, entrepreneurs) — included Kenneth Lay (Enron), Steve Ells (Chipotle), John Rigas (Adelphia), and Travis Kalanick (Uber). Fraud, conspiracy, toxic culture, sexual assault, stealing from the company, and a US $25 million fine to resolve criminal charges distinguished five of seven entrepreneurs in this group.

5. Humble CEOs (high humility, low narcissism, non-entrepreneurs) — included CEOs such as Richard Kovacevich (Wells Fargo), Sundar Pichai (Google), Samuel Palmisano (IBM), Edward Rust (State Farm), Alan Mulally (Ford), Craig Jelinek (Costco), and Doug Conant (Campbell Soup Company). These CEOs differed from traditional CEOs. Only one of 63 had been involved in dysfunctional behavior, and all exhibited a considerable degree of humble leadership. Mulally is a good example. According to a Forbes article, “Mulally does not believe in top-down control when it comes to the culture of the organization. Coaching, facilitating, and leading with humility, love, and service are table stakes for him.” Conant, former CEO and president of Campbell Soup Company, is another example. According to Christine Porath and Conant, writing in Harvard Business Review, “The best way to truly win the hearts and minds of people, and generate huge returns for your organization and its stakeholders, is by leading with civility. This means spending a considerable amount of effort acknowledging people’s contributions, listening better, respecting others’ time, and making people feel valued.”

6. Humble entrepreneurs (high humility, low narcissism, entrepreneurs) — included James Sinegal (Costco), James Goodnight (SAS Institute), Hamdi Ulukaya (Chobani), Frederick Smith (FedEx), Tony Hsieh (Zappos), Richard Campo (Camden Property Trust), and John Mackey (Whole Foods). Seven traits typify these humble entrepreneurs:

   1. Modest lifestyle. I found no Internet references to extravagant lifestyle, such as private jets, yachts, expensive clothes, or private art collections. However, there were descriptions of modest lifestyles. According to Business Insider, Sinegal’s clothes came from Costco. His office was a “tiny alcove without a door; the furnishings are literally as fancy as folding chairs … Sinegal even answered his own phone instead of employing a secretary to do it.”

   2. Relatively modest compensation. Sinegal stated that a CEO should earn roughly 12 times the salary of the average employee. His base salary at Costco was $350,000. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Sinegal’s total compensation in 2010 was about $3.5 million, including base salary, bonuses, and stock options. By comparison, according to the Economic Policy Institute, “Average top CEO compensation was $15.6 million in 2021, up 9.8% since 2020. In 2021, the ratio of CEO-to-typical-worker compensation was 399-to-1 under the realized measure of CEO pay; that is up from 366-to-1 in 2020 and a big increase from 20-to-1 in 1965 and 59-to-1 in 1989.”

   3. Humble leadership style. Empowerment, autonomy, decentralized decision-making, and consultation with employees were typical.

   4. Humble philanthropy. These entrepreneurs often made anonymous and substantial contributions to entities like the Cary Academy, the Downtown Project, and the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. They focused their philanthropic efforts on “lesser” organizations and on social welfare projects such as disaster relief.

   5. Impeccable business practices. The number of humble entrepreneurs involved in dysfunctional behavior was zero of 24, in contrast to dysfunctional behavior rate of destructive narcissists and destructive entrepreneurs (10 of 13).

   6. People-oriented organizational practices. Sinegal’s business strategy was to take care of the employees so the employees would take care of the customers. Goodnight cofounded SAS Institute in 1976. SAS campuses include vacation and volunteer time off, unlimited sick leave, a free healthcare center, subsidized childcare, subsidized cafes, a fitness center, and a hair salon.

   7. Global impact. Humble entrepreneurs have created longstanding, successful global companies, such as Costco, SAS Institute, Chobani, FedEx, and Whole Foods.

7. Productive narcissists (high humility, high narcissism, non-entrepreneurs) — non-founders who paradoxically combined humility and narcissism, such as Eric Schmidt (Google), Lloyd Blankfein (Goldman Sachs), Tim Armstrong (AOL), Marcelo Claure (Softbank), Mike Armstrong (AT&T), Jack Welch (General Electric), John Chambers (Cisco), and Tim Cook (Apple). These CEOs shared narcissists’ grandiosity (mansions, yachts, private jets, media), but only three of 11 had been implicated in dysfunctional behavior. They have appeared in accounts of best CEOs.

8. Paradoxical entrepreneurs (high humility, high narcissism, entrepreneurs) — founders who paradoxically combined humility and narcissism. Five characteristics identify them:

   1. Extravagant lifestyle. Paradoxical narcissists displayed an astounding level of material wealth: yachts and super yachts, mansions and mega-mansions, private jets, private islands, “movie-star lifestyle,” luxury items such as Rolex watches and Armani suits, and private art collections.

   2. Astronomical compensation. These CEOs received stunning annual total compensations. Former Oracle CEO Larry Ellison earned $1.84 billion over the course of a decade.

   3. Prestige-focused philanthropy. Philanthropy included self-named foundations (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) and donations to prestigious organizations such as universities (endowments, named buildings, endowed professorships), hospitals, and medical schools. Prestigious organizations have developed a symbiotic relationship with narcissists. Harvard offered to rename its medical school for $1 billion. A prestigious art museum lists prominent donors prominently in the front lobby, famous works of art are usually displayed with the name of the donor, and galleries may be named for patrons. Anonymous rarely makes an appearance in an art museum. 

   4. Questionable business practices. Sixteen of 26 paradoxical entrepreneurs in the sample had been implicated on US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fraud charges, racketeering lawsuits, accounting fraud, insider-trading accusations, bribery charges, toxic work culture, sexual affairs, a sexual harassment cover-up, and a variety of other scandals. Paradoxical entrepreneurs differed from destructive narcissists in two regards: (1) none had been responsible for the bankruptcy or demise of their organization, and (2) none had served time in prison for business crimes.

   5. Global impact. Paradoxical entrepreneurs have transformed the world. In 2022, the so-called FAANG companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google) had a combined market cap of $7 trillion and constituted 19% of the S&P 500. Paradoxical entrepreneurs (co)founded and led all five of the FAANG companies (Facebook/Zuckerberg, Amazon/Bezos, Apple/Jobs, Netflix/Hastings, Google/Brin). Other paradoxical entrepreneurs included Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX), Michael Dell (Dell), Steve Case (AOL), Ralph Lauren (Ralph Lauren Corporation), Mark Cuban (Mavericks), Rupert Murdoch (News Corp), Pierre Omidyar (eBay), Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines), Howard Schultz (Starbucks), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Richard Branson (Virgin Group), and Ellison (Oracle).

[For more on this topic, as well as the methodology of the study, see: “CEO Humility, Narcissism & Competitive Advantage.”]