Arrogant, is an individual who is haughty, conceited and pompous. Such a person will display self-importance, and disdainfulness. Traits like over-being, imperious, proud, immodest, bumptious, boastful, pretentious, supercilious and lordly, when rolled into one, produce the ‘arrogant man’.
Arrogant, is an individual who is haughty, conceited and pompous. Such a person will display self-importance, and disdainfulness. Traits like over-being, imperious, proud, immodest, bumptious, boastful, pretentious, supercilious and lordly, when rolled into one, produce the ‘arrogant man’.
Leaders/managers who carried arrogance on their shoulders lie mostly in the dungeons of forgotten memory. Human history has tolerated arrogance, during all times, but it gave no worthy recognition to this trait.
If anything, arrogance has always been looked down upon as a negative quality in any man’s character and behavior. I have witnessed in a span of career extending two score years, many of human species who had a domineering attitude that was never short of conveying abundantly, with full clarity, that they are the “best” leaders / managers, hence were loaded with an arsenal of arrogance. Self-deception is one major ally to convert any individual to being a loathsome arrogant person.
Many managers mask their arrogance under the grab of referring themselves to as being forthright, honest and truthful in expression. They indulge in invective and insulting language with colleagues. Expression of truth doesn’t entitle anybody to resort to either uncouth behaviour or license to be liberal in the choice of words, to belittle colleagues. To such managers, invitation, must be extended to ponder over Oscar Wilde’s statement, “the man who would call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one. It is the only thing he is fit for”.
The arrogant manager necessarily has impeccably bad taste. From the chapel to the Abbey is their journey, which is full of sarcasm, lies and lurid observations. The presence of an arrogant person within an organisation is the worst moral and ethical contamination. Its influence degrades the general environment. The consequences are development of a morbid and superficial corporate culture and an extremely distorted view on the need of a cohesive workforce. It is a ritualistic endeavor of a self serving manager to promote reasons that would go to contribute in the building of a repugnant and repulsive organisation. Such moves help in creating dissension in ranks and hence, so believes, the arrogant leaders, that his attitude or incompetency would remain unchallenged. It is another matter that the myth of invincibility is shattered to pieces by his/ her own acts and moves.
Life is a boomerang, a fact no manager should ever forget, when indulging in insult of colleagues. Arrogance cannot remain in the realm of obscurity. The demon it is, so finds a way to manifest itself in several formats.
Soft arrogance at the shop floor involves surrounding of oneself with sycophants, who see no wrong in you and are never short to make short and long speeches of praise, to honor the conceited and stinking manger, there may be one. The misfortune an arrogant manager suffers from is that he /she cannot decide how and when to get off, the flying horse; leading up to a great fall, eventually. These rapscallions are the source of all the misfortunes of any team, whose job is only to designing the sordid ambitious plans, that are brimming with arrogance and vindictive knave.
Arrogance knows no manners or etiquettes. It has no principles, either public or private. It can only drip poison from its lips. The egotistical imagination it induces harbours on how to malign colleagues and glorify itself (the manager). In recent history, the most arrogant political leader, with a great intellect and a razer’s edge tongue was Winston Churchill. A critic recognised him as such in following words, “he (Churchill) never spares himself in conversation. He gives himself so generously that hardly anybody else is permitted to give anything in his presence.” Arrogance as a trait, will allow any manager to lay down his team for his survival. To hit below the belt is their operating chant; These self-conscious fribble's are a pain at the most inappropriate part. They just cannot take their minds off themselves. Arrogance is the closest cousin of a narcissist; they stare at their own photographs and are pained to miss themselves.
The arrogant leader cannot leave center stage. All lights. Camera and action has to be on him / her, regarding him / her. To quote Alice Roosevelt, “My father wanted to be the baby at every christening, the bride at every wedding, and the corpse at every funeral”. They have love bites on their mirrors. It is not a necessity to be in possession of any unique or special quality, characteristic or trait, to climb to the chambers of the pinnacle of arrogance. The only prerequisite is that the feeling of being better than others must be brimming perennially. An adage in Urdu says that those possessed of beauty, quickly learn and reckon, its delicateness. This exhibits in character and is prone to make any loose one’s sense of balance.
Arrogant bosses are tongue lashers. Being devoid of humility, their reason rides out; when wrath speaks, wisdom veils her face. Arrogance is rarely a state of short-term insanity, it lasts sometimes for the life span. Arrogance without a cause gives the most enduring pleasure to the possessor of this trait. Arrogant behaviour requires no training, it is a second nature, so consequently comes out very naturally.
“Half of the harm that is done in this world, is due to people who want to feel important”. The arrogant demands that all bells that toll must echo merely their thoughts. Over a time predetermined by Mother Nature, the arrogant man gives his environment sufficient reasons to cause his ultimate destruction. The enemy of an arrogant leader is not outside him, but is a permanent resident inside him, that when tickled by the wheels of fortune, attacks with no mercy or remorse, leading to the fall, akin to Humpty Dumpty, where no men of any King can put the pieces together. The demise of the arrogant leader or manager is written on the blood dripping pages of history.
The position on the organisational hierarchy is a major reason for inducement of feelings of arrogance. The perks and privileges that come with office are used to topple the self-respect of others. Being rude in conversations, is but one small example of it.
Arrogance, with its demonic powers, manifests itself in many forms. The demand to have “spot light” upon himself; the desire to have designated lifts /elevator in the building, that must wait on their floor and the wish of unbridled powers to do and undertake any action, with no attending accountability are some everyday witnessed behaviour of an arrogant leader.
Those managers who passionately love to berate their colleagues in public, are major repositories of the feelings of being superior to their team mates. Some managers, who are covertly arrogant make efforts to keep its visibility subdued with visible humility- nay, they aren’t humble. That’s a mask. Saying the most cutting remarks in the softest of decibel level does not render or lend nobility to inherent distastefulness. Off these types, I have seen many. Overtly, they are extremely humble, but always have a dagger in the cloak, to be used liberally, whenever they see an opportunity. Managers who resort to vitriolic sarcasm and taunts are a loathsome lot. They would do well, if they take up a career of hurling curses and abuses upon voodoo dolls, at the request of disturbed and disgruntled clients, troubled by either their managers or better halves. In Hong Kong, these specialists of casting abuses and cruse, who largely run shops underneath flyovers, make good money----many of my colleagues after office hours would make a pilgrimage to these wizards of words, to relive themselves of the anxieties caused by --- wonder, if it was me!
Arrogance is the most disliked trait by Divinity. Any who fears Him, must remain cognizant of this. In speech, be kind, generous and respectful. Indeed, indulge in what would please Divinity, not what would please the manager! Henry Kissinger, the Master Diplomat, made the most telling arrogant remark, when upon entering the Hall of Mirrors, he exclaimed, “never before have I seen so much talent in a single room”!
The writer is a senior banker and freelance columnist
