“Arrogance is the surest path to failure.” ~ William Butler Yeats

Leadership Arrogance: Are You A Monkey’s Uncle?

Leadership Arrogance can destroy you, your team, and a whole lot more!

A while ago I received a third unsolicited email from a “leader” in my industry. I have never met this person, don’t know them, and certainly never signed up for their emails. Not wanting to read about their family, history, and all their yadda, yadda, yadda, blah, blah, blah…

I simply replied, “Please remove me from your mailing list, thanks!”

Here’s what I received back:

I apologize for this automatic reply to your email. To control spam, I now allow incoming messages only from senders I have approved beforehand. If you would like to be added to my list of approved senders, please fill out the short request form (see link below). Once I approve you, I will receive your original message in my inbox. You do not need to resend your message. I apologize for this one-time inconvenience. Click the link below to fill out the request:

Reflection is a skill used to gain clarity by reflecting back in your own words what you heard a speaker communicate:

“So what I am hearing you say is that it is okay for you to fill my inbox with your unsolicited c***  and if YOU approve me, I can reply back to you so that I can tell you to stop doing to me what you don’t want done to you…did I get that right?”

My first thought: YOU ARROGANT ASS!

Arrogant leaders believe they can tell people what to do or how to do something and then never apply the same rules to themselves. I refer to this as The 800 lb. A.P.E. ™  in the room.

The 800 lb. A.P.E.™:

• A-rrogance – an offensive display of superiority or self-importance
• P-ride – a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, or superiority.
• E-go – egotism; conceit; self-importance often used in the context of personal pride and self-absorption.

Arrogance, Pride, and Ego, can destroy a team, a family, a career, an organization, or a relationship. The idea that anyone person could be so much more important than the other person is a sad thought.

Why sad? Because arrogance, pride, and ego, are smokescreens, they are a diversion that people use to cover-up low-self-esteem, low self-worth, and insecurities. The belief is that if I appear confident enough, bigger than, more than, you won’t see the real me that I hide way down deep.

There is a big difference between a confident leader and a leader who feels the need to over-inflate themselves in an attempt to appear confident. However, most folks can see right through the smokescreen…not immediately but eventually. Think The Wizard of Oz and the “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” scene towards the end of the movie.

People Will Follow

People will follow a leader who is confident, who is other-centered, and who takes pride in their work and their people. Not a false sense of pride, but one that creates an environment of trust, integrity, and a job well done.

In other words, people don’t follow monkey’s or apes…no matter how little or cute they are!

If you struggle with this issue STOP MONKEYING AROUND! People already see through the facade so you’re wasting a whole lot of time and energy trying to cover up something that you can’t.

Open to a thought?

Get a coach, get real, and get on with your life, so that you can become the true, authentic, leader that you are being called to be!

Still need a little help: Get a copy of my latest book and learn the formula for reversing arrogance!