Inflated Egos/Pride:
The issues they cause
and suggested solutions
By: Omar A.,Quinn O., Marcus R., and Brooke T.
Agenda
Ego
What is it?
Why is it an issue?
Effective ways to solve it
Aristotle
“Virtue of character is a mean”
According to Aristotle, virtue is achieving the balance in all traits (1990). We want to avoid extremes, instead striving for the middle. For example, being driven and motivated is great, but if taken to the point where you lose sight of everything else in your life, it becomes a detriment. This philosophy holds true for our topic today: Ego.
We all have an ego, we just need to find the balance
Ego is defined as “the self especially as contrasted with another self or the world” (Merriam-Webster, 2022). In other words, it is our sense of self. Thus, everyone has an ego and its not inherently bad. When in the appropriate amount, we have confidence which is a very positive trait. However, the problem occurs when there is either a total lack or excess of an ego. A total lack of confidence results in self-doubt. While an excess leads to arrogance which is defined as “an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions” (Merriam-Webster, 2022).
Arrogance is Widespread
Admitted to acting arrogantly
84%
46%
Interacted with an arrogant person at least once a monthly
Unfortunately, this is a rather widespread issue. According to a study conducted in 2017, “84% of the respondents reported encountering arrogant behavior at least once a month, and as many as 46% of the respondents admitted behaving arrogantly themselves” (Milyavsky, M., Kruglanski, A. W., Chernikova, M., & Schori-Eyal, N., 2017). On a personal level, we all know at least one arrogant person. While we all know intuitively that arrogance is bad, Brooke is going to share why it negatively impacts teams and businesses as a whole.
Internal Negative Impacts of Arrogance
Inability to stay open minded
Blocks creativity
Lowered self-awareness
Cockyness can limit growth
So next, we are going to look at the different issues surrounding arrogance and why they can harm a workplace. Looking at this picture, we can get a little glimpse of what arrogance can build to look like. This employee represents someone who is very hands off, care free, and feels satisfied to the point where no further contribution is needed. Arrogance falling on the far side of ego can sometimes present problems in the workplace. These problems can present both internally for the arrogant individual and/or externally affecting the workplace as a whole. Internally, arrogance negatively impacts the ability to stay open minded. When an arrogant worker is feeling that their idea is the only correct path, it shows that that team member is unable to view other ideas and hear input. This cockyness can limit growth because of the inner restriction being placed on the individual. Arrogance can also decrease self-awareness. It can become difficult to evaluate and challenge ourselves when we are overly confident and satisfied in what we already know.
(Not only do arrogant employees have poor task performance, but they also do not engage in citizenship behaviors that cultivate positive social climates at work. Instead, arrogant behaviors likely cultivate poisonous social climates.
Consistent with this idea is the finding that arrogant employees have strong individual identities (Bauer et al., 2008), which reflects the tendency to view oneself as separate from—and typically better than—others (Johnson, Selenta, & Lord, 2006).
When employees have a strong individual identity, it is much easier to act in a harmful and hostile manner towards others because actors are less sensitive to the well-being of other people (Johnson & Saboe, 2011).
External Negative Impacts of Arrogance
Limits the ability to work together cohesively and effectively
Can cause mistrust in the workplace
Where is this likely to stem from?
Low
Emotional
Intelligence
I’m sure we have all been apart of groups or organizations where we have members or even leaders that just kill the work environment with attitudes of arrogance, ego, and pride. It becomes difficult for teams to create and grow together when there are individuals that are shutting down any chance of creating cohesion. With negative members doing this, mistrust can be created. It can be hard to rely on a member when they are not open to challenging themselves to produce better work. Their job performance cannot be reliable.
So now we question, what can we do to mitigate some of this negativity within teams? We ask ourselves, “where is this arrogance likely to stem from?” We believe that it is likely due to low emotional intelligence.
Next, Marcus will talk about how these negative impacts of arrogance can stem from a low emotional intelligence.
Solution - EQ
Emotional Intelligence in the workplace can greatly improve the amount of arrogance and pride displayed
By others.
There are 4 general skills that can be
Applied in our work life.
Tip
4 ways to improve:
-Self Management
-Self Awareness
-Social Awareness
-Relationship MGT
Emotional intelligence is a vital part of a cohesive workspace. Research shows it directly can affect your performance in school and work. Emotional intelligence is a skill that can be developed. There are four universal skills that can be learned to enhance emotional intelligence. Two of the skills cause us to reflect internally. The other two skills cause us to think about our interactions with the external enviornment. An organization should continue to develop and improve with these skills.
EQ - Continued
There are additional ways to continue to drive a cohesive workplace.
Tip
Listen to colleagues first
Ask permission to give advice
Improving coaching skills
People can also mitigate arrogance by implementing a “me second” approach. People can avoid egos in the workplace by active listening, more than speaking first. One way to give feedback and advice is to ask that colleague if it’s okay first. This can help people let their guard down because they know that person cares to ask first, if advice is okay to give. Too often, egoistic people give unsolicited advice.
Arrogance Narrows
Vision
Arrogance is unfortunately very prevalent in general work environments and is a even larger issue when it comes to leading teams. When arrogance is present in relationships it often leads to a breakdown in conversation. This lack of communication can come from the arrogant party being unwilling to listen or be open to the communication attempts of their employees. This is especially difficult when pride and arrogance are present within leaders who are meant to guide teams to success.
Solutions to Arrogance
Rising above ego and arrogance is important when leading a team. Here are some key things to keep in mind when attempting effectively lead a team;
Gratitude for your team and place in life assists in keeping yourself humble. Working on emotional intelligence is a good start
Taking moments within your day to reflect
Consider which parts of your role as a leader are necessary
Some leaders can take advantage of leadership because of the additional perks that come along with the role
Tip!
Hire and develop workers who have the insight to speak when leaders overstep
For such a complex issue like pride the solutions are similarly related to an individual's emotions and perspective. Firstly, taking moments to meditate and focus on the aspects of your position that you're grateful for can help reduce how committed some leaders can be to a narrow vision. Taking a moment can manifest in many different forms. It can be meditation, prayer, or even journaling. Secondly, leaders are essential to a well functioning team, but some leaders can focus on the unnecessary perks of their positions. This can lead to leaders taking advantage of the position and becoming attached to the rewards of leadership. Arrogance could manifest because of their attachment to the benefits and therefore make leaders fearful of losing those perks. A solution would be to reduce the unnecessary parts of your leadership roles in order to not get caught up in the outcomes.
Solutions to Pride
Pride can often blind leaders into behaving narcissitically and arrogantly. Understanding the origins of where pride comes from can help leaders be effective
Separate hubristic pride and authentic pride
Do not set unrealistic or highly exceeding perception on small successes
Tip!
Authentic pride that comes from self awareness is one of the best motivators
Additionally you can mitigate pride by discerning hubristic pride and authentic pride. Hubristic pride is characterized by excessive self confidence and self-importance. Leaders who focus only on hubristic pride tend to overestimate their abilities and feel as if they are the only team member capable of succeeding. In order to mitigate focusing on the wrong effects of pride, leaders must differentiate their source of pride. They can not set unrealistic perceptions on small successes and then proceed to inflate their performance. Self awareness if key when to comes to being an effective leader and can assist in separating the true and authentic sources of pride.
Sources
Aristotle, & Rackham, H. (1990). The Nicomachean Ethics. Harvard University Press.
Carver, C. S., & Johnson, S. L. (2010). Authentic and Hubristic Pride: Differential Relations to Aspects of Goal Regulation, Affect, and Self-Control. Journal of research in personality, 44(6), 698–703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2010.09.004
Harvard Business Review. (2018, November 7). Ego is the enemy of good leadership. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2018/11/ego-is-the-enemy-of-good-leadership
Sources
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Arrogance. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved April 7, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arrogance
Milyavsky, M., Kruglanski, A. W., Chernikova, M., & Schori-Eyal, N. (2017). Evidence for arrogance: On the relative importance of expertise, outcome, and manner. PloS one, 12(7), e0180420. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180420
Silverman, S. B., Johnson, R. E., Mcconnell, N., & Carr, A. (2012). Arrogance: A Formula for Leadership Failure. TIP: The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 50(1), 21–28.
Thank you all for listening, we can take any questions now at this time!