Arrogant Leaders

Arrogant leaders are by nature self centered. They believe their success is because of their own abilities and qualities. They are quick to point out the mistakes of others and rarely take the blame for anything that goes wrong. They are project killers because of their poor listening skills and their inability to see beyond themselves and their narrow views. They know best, and find it burdensome to give others the stage. Challenge them or try to draw them into a debate and watch out! You will be quickly labeled as inflexible and unwilling to accept “what is best”.

In Jim Collins’ book “Good to Great” he found through surveys that humble leadership (opposite of arrogance) was one of the many leadership traits that contributed to the long-term success of organizations. Humble leaders get involved, are willing to listen to opposing viewpoints, and have high self-esteem. They have high moral values, which causes them to be centered on doing things right for the right reasons. They energize others, and believe their talents are a gift to be kept in perspective both in the work place and in their personal lives.

Note: This doesn’t always apply, but you would be surprised. Look at what the arrogant leader and the humble leader drive to work. That can tell you a lot about who they are and the image they are trying to portray.

One of the things we know is that leaders can’t effectively lead if they don’t know what is going on. A telltale sign of the arrogant leader is they don’t care about the details. That is because details are beneath them. They also believe that execution is beneath them. They are the grand strategist and don’t have time to get involved in the details. They are interested in headlines, not deadlines. Serving the greater good takes a back seat to serving their own self interests.

Another trait you might see is that arrogant leaders are threatened by the “good” leaders. They fear the good leader’s success and often view them as weak and ineffective (envy is a four letter word). In fact, many arrogant leaders see humility and attentiveness in others as a character flaw. We know by observation that the arrogant leaders are the ones with the weak character, the ones with the poor communication skills, and are the ones with the low self esteem. The arrogant leader’s weaknesses are easy to spot. They don’t fool anybody but themselves. Remember the CEOs of Enron, MCI/WorldCom? At one time they were arrogant, now they are in prison.

Emotional Outburst #1 - Arrogant leaders are organizational pariahs, and are terrible project managers.

A leader that motivates and inspires has to be visible, informed, and respected. Like any good engineer knows, you sometimes have to get your hands dirty to solve problems and gain the respect of the people doing the work.

An arrogant leader is the opposite of a servant leader. Whether they wear a skirt or a suit they are inhibitors to organizational excellence and their thirst for power destroys team synergy and employee morale.

Project Management is about the Journey and the Destination

I like to use the ProjectSteps blog to vent, and hopefully, every once in a while, I pass on some small piece of useful information to another person. It is hard to know sometimes if anybody is benefiting from my ramblings, but like all free advice it is worth what you paid for it. There was an article published recently that said keeping a blog is therapeutic. I believe there may be some truth to that statement, and that is why I will probably keep the blog going. I need a place to vent my opinion, and occasionally rail against the “demons of stupidity”.

We are in a tough economy right now and It is having a big impact on the area where I live and on the organization I work for. We are struggling to make meaningful cuts (tens of millions of dollars) to achieve savings that will balance our budget. At my workplace people are losing their jobs, and as we all know this is a very upsetting and troubling process to watch. I have faith that I can work my way through this situation and still find time to give back to others in need. These are tough times that may get tougher and we have to all pull together and do what we can for each other.

I feel blessed to have a job and I’m thankful to have a roof over my head and two great kids. I have hope for my career, my country and believe that both will get back on track to better times soon. Sometimes hope and faith are the only things that we have under our control. I believe that while faith can be fleeting, hope lasts forever.

In the end, we all are in charge of our own destiny and our own success. In tough times it takes effort to keep your head in the game and stay focused. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that the career of a project manager can have great rewards, but it can also be filled with great frustrations and experiences that are less than rewarding. My point? Tough times and times of uncertainty require mental toughness and a strong resolve to do the right things at the right times for the right reasons.

In closing I would like to say we lost a good man when Tim Russert passed away. I will miss seeing him and hearing his wisdom on Sunday mornings. Also, I can’t forget George Carlin who also passed away last week. While controversial, Mr. Carlin told it like it was and also loved to rail against the “demons of stupidity”. I will miss them both.

Reward Excellent Failures!

Another great video from Tom Peters! I agree with everything he says in this video to my core.



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