The Chicago White Sox: Narcissistic Leadership Tendencies at the Top

There have been several recent occurrences within the Chicago White Sox organization that bring fans, industry professionals, and IO Psychologists to ask some serious questions about the leadership (or serious lack thereof) at the top of the organization, specifically with Jerry Reinsdorf, 87, and what kind of culture they’re fostering.?

In a developing story, a gun went off inside the Chicago White Sox park, Guaranteed Rate Field, even though Reinsdorf says he doesn’t see how this could have happened. Two women were injured, and thankfully no one died. However, this is a concern for several reasons. One, there are supposed to be safety precautions to prevent firearms from entering the facility. Two, the Chicago Police Department has confirmed, through investigators, that the shot was not from outside the park. Reinsdorf, nor any other leader within the organization, has not provided any plan to increase the safety of fans wishing to watch a White Sox game and has basically insinuated this should be a non-story. This lack of empathic leadership can be attributed to narcissistic tendencies. Where is the concern for the safety of the fans? What would have happened if fans panicked and 20,000 attendees frantically attempted to exit the stadium at once? Likely chaos would have ensued.

According to ESPN’s 2023 MLB Attendance, The Chicago White Sox have the 24th lowest attendance of all the 30 MLB Teams this year. This could be attributed to their losing season but could perhaps be due to safety concerns. Regardless, in a recent home loss, fans decided to confirm their united discontentment with Reinsdorf with a massive sign. The first line said, “42 years of ownership” while the second said “7 playoff appearances.” The third line, which was red and in all caps, said “JERRY REINSDORF MUST GO.” The sign was later confiscated by park authorities.?

Recently, perhaps due to the losing culture within the organization, Reinsdorf, with seemingly no notice, fired executive vice president Kenny Williams and general manager Rick Hahn, the Chicago White Sox’ long-time (over 22 years) head executives. For context, this represents the Chicago White Sox’ two most powerful people, outside of owner and chairman Reinsdorf.?

Of course, as an owner, Reinsdorf can do what he pleases and doesn’t need to give notice. However, you’d think he’d give these men, who served the organization since 2000 and won the Chicago White Sox a World Series in 2005, at the very least a courtesy heads up. He didn’t. With the season going terribly, for reference, the Chicago White Sox have the worst run differential out of all the MLB Teams (-133), this change of leadership, if only for a moment, gave the collective Chicago White Sox fan base the thought that there may be renewed hope and that Reinsdorf is going to find a leader who can make the necessary changes to bring back a winning culture.?

When a team like the Chicago White Sox, or really any organization that lets go of tenured, senior executives, goes through a major leadership shakeup, there’s a leadership gap and a chance to approach the next season of the business with a fresh approach. This leadership vacancy within the Chicago White Sox should give ownership the opportunity to interview outsiders who will likely give their honest evaluation of players, of the current organizational structure and of the team as a whole. This also allows for industry commentary to influence your thought process. Many teams searching for a top executive conduct extremely exhaustive searches that span months with dozens of consultants, industry experts, and analysis being done on personality, performance, and potential.?

Reinsdorf apparently didn’t need much time to consider possibilities outside of the organization. It was announced last week, only 9 days after Reinsdorf fired Willians and Hahn, that their replacement would be inside man, and Reinsdorf’s number three in command, Chris Getz, for the top role. While promoting from within can sometimes be seen as a sign of great culture, this situation is far from that example. The Chicago White Sox are not only over 25 games back from the division lead, meaning their team is having a horrible season on the field, Getz’s role within the organization was to develop players. Specifically, he was responsible for the farm system; the lifeblood of the organization that develops players into major leaguers and adds value to the organization in potential trade capital. When Getz took over the role, the Chicago White Sox’ farm system was ranked number 1 in 2017. As of the most recent MLB.com’s latest rankings, the White Sox sit at a blistering low at 20th out of the 30 teams. Not exactly a stellar resume… And, the bigger question is why he would promote someone who isn’t successful in his current role? What kind of message is this sending to his organization??

Conducting a thorough search for the next head of baseball person should have allowed Reinsdorf to expand his knowledge base by talking to baseball experts who undoubtedly would provide their honest evaluation of various candidates and their opinion of Reinsdorf’s strategic plan for the future, and specific decisions that need to be considered to help transform the White Sox into a winning organization. It’s almost like inviting various business strategists to present their respective SWOT Analysis. It can be both an enlightening yet sobering process, but it was clearly one that Reinsdorf didn’t see the value in conducting. This arrogant, “I know best,” thought process is called “anchoring” and can be attributed to narcissistic personality disorder.

In skipping the interview process, Reinsdorf reportedly asked MLB Commissioner, Rob Mandred, for an exception to the rule requiring teams to interview a minority for the role. When Reinsdorf was granted this exception, he didn’t have to consider any minorities for the role. Chicago is an incredibly culturally diverse city and even the neighborhood that the stadium is in is culturally rich. It’s an insult to Chicago and to fans to ask for this exception, in the first place. It’s an even bigger insult when the commissioner grants this request as it provides a very dangerous precedent. Reinsdorf snubbed his fans and the cultural diversity of the community in which his team plays. This behavior shows he doesn’t want to be an inclusive leader as inclusive leaders are always finding ways to champion diversity, equity and inclusion.

There’s undoubtedly concern within the organization and it has become a larger issue of cultural identity. What kind of culture are the Chicago White Sox and Jerry Reinsdorf looking to build for the organization as it moves forward?

From an Industrial Organizational Psychology perspective, these leadership moves and interview process - or lack thereof - raise a lot of questions. Primarily, questions arise from a cultural perspective. Whenever nepotism seeps into an organization, especially within one that isn’t hitting industry standards, it has a high likelihood of creating an echo chamber of single-mindedness. The clear void of an interview process also causes lots of consternation for the staff that is left behind. It shows them that whomever has made the decision to function this way was hasty, inconsiderate, and perhaps arrogant.

Research has shown tendencies of narcissistic leadership tied to anchoring behavior in that narcissists, in their overconfidence may not thoroughly identify, may ignore, or not adjust away from irrelevant information (Littrell et al., 2020). Additionally, anchoring has many correlations to narcissism whereby the decision maker who pushed an agenda forward without clearly considering other options is viewed as unapproachable and inconsiderate of others viewpoints. Is the culture the White Sox are trying to build? Or, does Reinsdorf simply think he alone knows best and doesn’t need to take the time to hear any conflicting or challenging viewpoints?

It was recently reported that Reinsdorf, 87, has no plans to sell the White Sox. Only that he wants to make it better before he passes. With losing as much money as they have this season, reportedly around $50M, perhaps he doesn’t want to sell because the value isn’t high enough. If Reinsdorf is motivated by winning, is Getz really the person, with no other perspectives to challenge his thinking or process, to take the White Sox to a winning season? If Reinsdorf is motivated by bettering the team, wouldn’t he want to at least hear an outsider’s opinion?

Or, is Reinsdorf displaying narcissistic tendencies like anchoring, nepotism, arrogance and ignoring proper protocol, because he and he alone must know best?

Comments from Leadership Experts:

• "Changing leadership at any level of an organization?requires a plan that includes wise and experienced counsel.Humbly review results, take responsibility for your failings as a leader, and improve the process for the future of your company.Your next hire is very important to the success of your team." - Karl Gray , Operations leader
• Illinois has no shortage of leaders who choose self interest over regulations intended to care for the whole (e.g., Madigan, Blagojevich, Ryan).? For the last three years in a row, the University of Illinois at Chicago determined Chicago is the most corrupt city in the country (footnote 1).? Why would we expect this leader, connected in similar?powerful Illinois circles, to act otherwise?? ? ? ? ? ? ~ Michelle Kilbourne, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP