Confidence is a great asset for business leaders. In fact, it’s a necessity. That is, until it goes too far and veers into arrogance.
Arrogance can be a toxic trait of a CEO. It can alienate employees, damage business relationships and negatively affect the business itself. In a story for Inc.com, Travis Bradberry explores why confidence matters, and what happens when it crosses the line.
“We gravitate to confident leaders because confidence is contagious, and it helps us to believe that there are great things in store,” he writes. “The trick, as a leader, is to make certain your confidence doesn’t slip into arrogance and cockiness. Confidence is about passion and belief in your ability to make things happen, but when your confidence loses touch with reality, you begin to think you can do things you can’t and have done things you haven’t. Suddenly it’s all about you. This arrogance makes you lose credibility.”
A balance of confidence and humility is needed, Bradberry says: “Great, confident leaders are still humble. They don’t allow their accomplishments and position of authority to make them feel that they’re better than anyone else. As such, they don’t hesitate to jump in and do the dirty work when needed, and they don’t ask their followers to do anything they aren’t willing to do themselves.”
Here’s a look at how arrogance can derail CEOs and prevent future growth and success.
The effects
It’s hard to look up to a CEO that shows constant signs of arrogance. There may be admiration for the CEO’s position, experience and skill, but there won’t be any true desire to follow someone that behaves in an egotistical manner. Tish Squillaro explores this in a Wired.com story, writing about how arrogance can have harmful results in the workplace.
“My research and consulting experience show that there is nothing healthy or compelling about an arrogant leader,” she says. “Such leaders harm their companies more than they help them. They drain employee motivation, foster high turnover rates, paralyze entire departments and quell everyone’s ideas but their own. Arrogant leaders, like executives who operate from a base of fear, make nothing achievable — as teams that lack good leadership and motivation slide in productivity, creativity and drive.”
Effects outside of the office
Arrogance can have a universal effect, not just to those who are beneath the CEO. That toxic element can also offend peers, mentors, important collaborators and customers, as Squillaro explains.
“Board members, investors, potential clients and partners get weary too. … A common trait of arrogant executives is the inability to remain silent and listen. Most leaders know when to hold their tongues — especially during important meetings. It’s critical to allow everyone their due time to express ideas — even if they differ from your own. The egotistical leader will continuously interrupt and correct others — even board members.”
Arrogant traits
There are many indications of an arrogant leader. Here are a few not-so-obvious ones.
The one-upper: Carmine Gallo describes the “can’t-be-topped” leader in a story for The Ladders. He depicts a conversation he had with someone “who has a reputation for arrogance.” The “common theme” Gallo noted: “… He always tried to one-up everything I said. For example, when the conversation turned to a documentary that I had recently seen on sharks, this man said, ‘That’s nothing, I swim with sharks.’ This trait in arrogant people is so common that the famous Dilbert cartoon strip has a recurring character named ‘Topper.’ Confident people don’t feel the need to brag. Their accomplishments do it for them.”
Not respecting competitors: Arrogance can cause leaders to not understand the competition, and fail to recognize the value of the work of others. Arrogance might include bad-mouthing other businesses, but that won’t get them far, Gallo writes: “This simply makes the arrogant person look even smaller. I recently overheard a woman talking to a recruiter and saying vicious things about her former company as well as other companies in the industry. The recruiter listened patiently. When the woman left, I leaned over and asked the recruiter what he thought. He simply rolled his eyes. Take the high road so you don’t get the eye roll.”
Tardiness: Arrogance can be tied to the leader that never arrives on time, as Gallo writes: “Arrogant people think their time is more important than anybody else’s. Being late means nothing to them. Confident leaders are timely and quick to apologize when they’re off schedule.”
Laziness: This may not make for an instant connection, because arrogance can include broad displays of aggressive behavior. But when it comes down to the work, laziness may be the result, according to a story on thenakedceo.com: “If you believe you already know everything, then what’s left to learn or do? In reality, no one is that good in business that they can afford to take their foot off the accelerator and just coast along. Remember, you’re only as good as your last achievement or decision.”
Lack of accountability: Peter Barron Stark chalks up arrogance as a primary reason that CEOs falter. Not being accountable for mistakes is one way this emerges, he explains: “Arrogant CEOs are proud to tell you about their many conquests in the past, and reluctant to own any part of a failure. It’s never their fault. Eventually, their arrogance becomes their undoing. Trust dissipates. Relationships erode. Finally, the CEO is left leading only himself or herself … right out the door.”
How to avoid it
There’s not necessarily an off-switch to arrogance. But if a CEO is in a contemplative mood about what isn’t working in his or her leadership approach, there are steps that may help. In a story for Inc.com, Peter Economy offers a few tips.
- He recommends CEOS own up to their slip-ups: “Humble leaders readily admit when they make mistakes, and they learn from them — modeling that behavior to others in their organization.”
- Be open-minded: “The height of arrogance is when a leader — or anyone else, for that matter — believes that he or she knows all the answers and doesn’t want or accept the input of others. This is a mistake.”
- Be forgiving: “We all make mistakes.When your people [make] mistakes — and they will — first forgive them, and then work with them to ensure they learn lessons from their mistakes. They will perform better in the future, and your organization will be better for it.”
- Be open to feedback: “To do a better job (and we can all improve in some way, whether it’s small or large), we need feedback from others around us — our boss, co-workers, customers, and anyone else we work with. Make a habit of asking for honest feedback — frank, direct, and to the point. And when you get feedback, don’t just sit there — do something about it.”
