History is full of leaders who have displayed much arrogance. In fact, arrogance is very much a part of government officials who have ascribed to themselves great importance as they sashay around with their blue light brigades and bully boy VIP protection units.
But arrogance is not merely a nuisance that should be overlooked with a “boys will be boys” approach.
It can be deadly.
Take the recent tragedy of the implosion of the Titan submersible built and operated by Oceangate.
In the wake of the tragedy, a number of truths are coming out, showing that, like most tragedies, there were a number of contributing factors that resulted in the tragedy.
Consider the arrogance of Oceangate’s leader, CEO Stockton Rush. It is said he simply ignored warnings from Rob McCallum, a leading deep sea exploration specialist who urged Rush to put a hold on his underwater trips until the vessel had been assessed by an independent body. McCullum suggested Rush was potentially putting his clients at risk by continuing with his underwater trips.
Like all arrogant leaders, Rush did not take kindly to the safety of his submersible being questioned. His response? He considered it “a personal insult”, claiming that he was “tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation”.
Essentially, he made the exact same mistake as those who claimed the Titanic ship to be “unsinkable”. Rush refused to believe his submersible was sinkable, and paid for this error of judgement and arrogance with his life – and the lives of another four innocent people on board his craft.
Arrogance is a killer because it robs people of their self-awareness, foresight and good judgement, among other things.
When you’re arrogant, you don’t have the presence of mind, the self-awareness to ask yourself, “What if what others are telling me is true?” prompting you to respond in a more responsible manner.
When you’re arrogant, you believe you are right and others are wrong, because, after all, you’re the smartest person in the room so who are these not-so-smart people to dare tell you what to do?
None of us has perfect vision in that we see the world exactly as it is. We all have our own perspective, with some of us seeing more than others, but none of us sees the complete picture. And it’s not that those who see things that we don’t see are necessarily smarter than us. They’re just viewing life from a different vantage point.
That’s where a comment such as management guru, Ken Blanchard’s comment that, “None of us is as smart as all of us,” is profound.
If you’re serious about being a responsible leader who has the best interests of the people you lead at heart, listen to what others around you tell you. They may stop you from making a fatal error.
If you’ve got the guts, do an “arrogance check” on yourself. Ask yourself these five questions and give yourself some straight answers.
Do you:
- dismiss the opinions and views of others as being irrelevant in favour of your opinions and views?
- find it difficult to admit that you got something wrong?
- justify to yourself and others the decisions you make?
- find few people challenge your views?
- find yourself “shouting down”, criticising or mocking people who have different views from yours?
If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, be advised that you’re possibly suffering from a degree of arrogance. It could therefore be just a matter of time before your arrogance results in a catastrophe – for your company, your companions or your career.
And the only person who can address your arrogance is … YOU.
Don’t make the Stockton Rush mistake and end up paying dearly for your arrogance. It’s just not worth it. Do something about it now.
Alan Hosking is the Publisher of HR Future magazine, www.hrfuture.net and @HRFuturemag. He is an internationally recognised authority on leadership competencies for the future and teaches experienced and younger business leaders how to lead with empathy, compassion, integrity, purpose and agility. He has been an Age Management Coach for two decades and is the author of parenting best seller What nobody Tells a New Father.
