The Fine Line Between Confidence and Arrogance- September 2013 My consulting practice allows me to interact with many different executives with a variety of personalities and styles. Some are outgoing and gregarious while others are withdrawn and conflict avoidant. I am frequently amazed at how some executives attained leadership positions despite displaying behavior and attitudes that no one should emulate. In many cases they were promoted because they were the best technician or, simply stated, they were the best forklift driver and were elevated to forklift supervisor without really having their leadership skills assessed. Others were selected because their image and self-confidence suggested they were ideal for promotion. In both situations, someone in a position of authority felt that a high level of technical skill or a heaping helping of self-confidence would somehow translate into strong leadership. Unfortunately, placing leaders under this rationale typically fails. The reason he is the best forklift driver is because he feels contentment and self-fulfillment in operating the forklift, but asking him to manage and motivate others is not what drives him. Therefore, without a great deal of coaching and training he will likely fail. Similarly, the overly self- confident individual may lack the tact and humility necessary to garner respect from his or her direct reports. The over confidence will often be perceived as arrogance and, although they are listed on the org chart as the boss, will never truly be viewed as a leader. This fine line between self -confidence and arrogance was never more evident than in my recent interview with a former VP of Sales seeking my advice on a position opportunity he was exploring. After spending the first 20 minutes of our discussion telling me how successful he had been and how desirable he would be to any organization, he finally asked if I had any questions for him. I asked him to tell me about the qualities and attributes of the members of the sales team in his previous job, specifically what were some things that he did to prepare them to succeed and advance their careers. He proceeded to tell me how well liked he was by all of his staff and how the company president had recognized his team for their great sales results. So I rephrased the questions and asked him to think of one person on his team who he felt personally responsible for helping to achieve success. He still didn't get it and continued to tout his own sales prowess and achievement. After our discussion I was reminded of one of sales guru Zig Ziglar's quotes: "You can get everything in life you want if you will help people get what they want." Obviously, this was not a philosophy shared by this gentleman. His inflated ego and self-image prevented him from seeing the importance of using his position and influence to develop the skills and abilities of his team. Somewhere in his career he was taught that to get ahead the only thing that matters is YOU! Over the years he had crossed that fine line between self-confidence and arrogance, and it now may likely prevent him from securing a leadership position in the future. The proven leader balances self-confidence with humility and recognizes that he or she is only as good as the combined skills and abilities of their team. It's a selfless approach and sometimes very difficult to understand for someone who has achieved past success by relying on an arrogant, egocentric demeanor to move up the corporate ladder. By the way, my VP Sales candidate contacted me recently to tell me he is going into business with his brother running a staffing agency. If any of you are interested in hearing him pontificate about his success, let me know. However, if we can assist your leaders and their team challenges please give me a call at 610-287-1162 or email me at phil@hrsolutionsonline.com. We are confident we can help!