A Personal Experience with Bad Leadership

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In the author’s experience, arrogance is the most damaging trait that a person in a leadership role can possess. Arrogance is the product of an ego that is out of control; however, the ego can be restrained when the will and desire exist to do so. The will and desire to control the ego and express humility must be a lifelong endeavor for those with large egos, lest they revert to their negative ways.

A Personal Experience

For many years, the author has reported either directly or indirectly to one particular manager. The manager is an intelligent person and an experienced engineer that worked his way upward from an individual contributor position, but he is one of the most arrogant human beings that the author has ever known.

The Good

The manager in question can be a very personable individual and does possess positive leadership traits. He recognizes achievement and is objective when giving feedback. In addition, he supports individual contributors’ professional goals, ensures that upper management is aware of our accomplishments, and he is fair when awarding compensation increases. In addition, he supports the team’s goals and team building concepts. Several years ago, he organized a team building event and arranged for all of our team’s remote workers to travel to the company office in Framingham, Massachusetts; it was a very pleasant experience and very beneficial to our team cohesiveness. Furthermore, he and the author have common interests and have had many pleasant conversations over the years. To his credit, over the course of the past 13 years he has worked to improve himself.

The Bad and the Ugly

The manager in question is known for getting things done, which is desirable in a leader; however, the author has wi...

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Borton, J. S., Crimmins, A. E., Ashby, R. S., & Ruddiman, J. F. (2012). How Do Individuals with Fragile High Self-esteem Cope with Intrusive Thoughts Following Ego Threat?. Self & Identity, 11(1), 16-35. doi:10.1080/15298868.2010.500935

Canic, M. (2007). Serve with Humility. Leadership Excellence, 24(1), 19.

Clark, D. (2011). Leading and Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadled.html

Elrod, D. J. (2013). Of Confidence and Humility. Strategic Finance, 95(8), 17-18.

Kerfoot, K. (2010). Leaders, Self-Confidence, and Hubris: What's the Difference?. Nursing Economic$, 28(5), 350-349.

Marks, J. T. (2012). A Matter of Ethics: Understanding the Mind of a White-Collar Criminal. Financial Executive, 28(9), 31-34.

MindTools. (2013). Level 5 Leadership. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/level-5-leadership.htm

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