The paternal twins, Arrogance and Laziness are experts at biding their time and waiting for an opening to slip into your leadership party. Constant vigilance is the only way to keep these destructive gatecrashers from moving in and taking up residence as permanent parts of your leadership style.
Both of these nefarious and destructive twins prefer to feast on your personal success. Laziness knows that almost everyone reaches a point in time when they grow fatigued from their efforts. Great leaders quite appropriately question whether they are making a difference, wonder where they will find the fuel to keep going and even wonder what life would be like with no one to worry about on a daily basis. It’s at this point that Laziness sees an opening and offers an alluring set of suggestions:
- Don’t work so hard. You’ve earned a rest. Just ease off a little.
- They’ll figure it out on their own.
- You’re not her career counselor.
- What’s the point? You’re fighting a no-win battle.
- Quit playing the politics here. You’ve earned your stripes.
Arrogance is never far behind, offering a similar but slightly more aggressive set of options:
- Do it because I said so.
- I don’t need your opinion to make this decision.
- I don’t care what the facts say; we’re going this way.
- Can’t you see that I’m busy?
- I’m right, that’s why they pay me.
The fact is that you are to be forgiven if you grow tired from time to time. It happens to the best of leaders and professionals. And lapsing into something that resembles arrogance is possible for most leaders…even the saintly ones. These are human issues, and only the leaders of myth and legend are immune to these failings. However, those that take their role seriously and strive to live it daily, employ a variety of approaches to avoid or minimize these lapses. They are aware of the allure Arrogance and Laziness and they work hard to keep them at bay.
8 Ideas for Remaining Strong as a Leader
1. Move the body and it will take care of your mind. Exercise, a good diet, frequent walks around the office, a jaunt around the block at lunch all help keep the brain fresh, happy and focused on the rights issues in the right way. There’s a ton of research that supports this, but the true test is in how good and fresh you feel when you do it. Personally, I like hiking a few flights of stairs…sometimes several times, just to clear the mind and gain the strength to tackle a tough problem.
2. Feed the mind. Take time to read or listen to someone read every day. Whether you are in the car, on the train, sitting in the airport lounge or facing the choice between another episode of Dancing with the Stars, choose to read someone and something that stimulates, challenges and encourages you to look at the world in a different way. A good goal…read something beyond the latest bodice-buster or psycho-thriller for 30 minutes every day.
3. Feed the spirit. Your faith and/or your spirituality offer ample opportunities to refresh. This is a distinctly personal issue, but whether you take the time to pray in the fashion of your faith or consider your small place in the big picture as part of your view on the universe, adding this into your day can help remind you of how you’ve chosen to live your life personally and as a leader.
4. Create an Early Warning System. Find a trusted advisor…ideally a peer, who’s comfortable and capable of telling you that you’re acting like an ass. It’s up to you to listen, and understanding that your gut instinct will be denial is another sign that he or she is probably right.
5. Count how many times you use the personal pronoun, “I” in conversations and reduce the number. In my experience excessive use of this term is an indicator that Arrogance has set up shop. The key here is recognizing what is excessive versus normal and expected.
6. In the same vein as the use of the term, “I,” challenge yourself to talk less in meetings, ask questions more, and avoid criticizing answers. Just focusing on strengthening in these three areas will help you orient back towards true north in your leadership approach. Seek first to understand and then to be understood!
7. Do something truly humbling outside of work. This fits nicely in feeding the spirit, and will remind you of how good things are for you and how truly bad they can be given different circumstances.
8. If it fits your life stage, sign up to help coach your child’s sports team. There’s nothing like the joy and exuberance and fun of young children playing a game because they want to, to remind you of who you are and were My favorite moment still as a parent of an athlete was watching my young son and his good friend playing goalie and defender on their 4th grade soccer team. The action was on the other side of the field, and these two were having a great time picking dandelions and laughing. Pure and priceless!
The Bottom Line for Now:
It’s a great day to get over yourself! Try one or more of the ideas above or drop a note on how you keep yourself grounded and motivated and how you keep Arrogance and Laziness on the outside looking in at all of the fun.
Now go pick some dandelions and then help someone do something great!
Really enjoyed the honesty of the post. The way you identified the paternal twins, arrogance and laziness. I had not thought of those words but you have it so right! Keeping your points in my head will help me everyday to be a better leader. Thank you for writing the obvious!
Thanks, Kimba! Use the thoughts in good health. -Art
Thanks for the leadership ideas that are definitely not the type of advice that we typically see associated with leadership. I like the exercise one. I try to keep a regular schedule of visiting the gym but sometimes feel pressured to skip due to a busy schedule. Over time, though, I have realized that I am more productive with a regular workout schedule even if it feels like I don’t have the time to fit it in. And meditation in the sauna is an especially relaxing component of the gym.
Art,
Thanks for the post. I defiantly liked the 8 ideas to combat laziness and arrogance. Charity and sports are definitely a good way to stay grounded. I like to participate in team sports and age has a funny way of substituting arrogance with humility, especially when you’re trying to chase down an 18 year old kid.
Thanks,
Ira
Hi Art,
Great post on on how leaders can lose their way once arrogance and laziness set in! Although a very personal method, as mentioned above, I use my faith/spiritually to help keep me grounded. Not only does it provide me with a sense of purpose and relaxation, but it reminds me of my values. I think it is important for leaders to not lose sight of their values, whether they are rooted in faith/spirituality or some other source, in order to prevent attitudes, such as arrogance and laziness from creeping in and taking over.
Great Post,
I particularly like the suggests on getting out of yourself and seeing what you can do for others. All too often we get caught up in our own world and forget how good we really have it. This also helps in keeping us humble so that arrogance doesn’t take over in our daily interactions with co-workers.
Brett, Ira, Melissa and Wade, thanks as well for adding your perspectives here.
Brett, there are so many cliches on growing and developing and thriving as a leader, that I take it as a personal challenge to find alternative and more personal methods to make the right points. Thanks for noticing!
Ira, wise words. My own sons keep me well grounded on the tennis and basketball courts.
Melissa, well stated. I wish I would have said it as nicely as you did in your comment!
Wade, it is amazing what a context adjustment will do for one’s attitude!
Thanks again for reading and commenting. -Art
Art:
Another outstanding piece. I especially like point 7. Too many “bosses” forget the humble part and tend to harded their walls around them well beyond what is needed to complete the mission.
This is an excellent reminder to all. Thanks for all you give to ….us!
DanM
Dan, thank you, and I truly appreciate your readership and great support! -Art
Great Post Art!
The Bible discusses strength in our weakness, and that keeps me going. I believe your adversity is brought to us to keep us humble as well as prepare us for future challenges. I like how Charles Stanley describes it as “the bread of adversity”.
We need to remain humble, release, and have faith and trust.
When you start thinking it’s “your brilliance” and not the strategy, you are already in trouble. When you start trusting your gut and intuition and not data, it’s another warning sign you have entered the arrogance zone.
A good exercise is to ask;
What do I know?
What do I not know?
What do I need to know?
Do you know what you don’t know?
…If you are in a real jam, I’ll have you talk to my wife as she keeps me humble as well. (Smile)
Mark Allen Roberts
Great post Art,
I think you covered it all. It sounds simple but not easy. Slowing down and taking time for those things that renew our spirit is perhaps one of the most difficult task for strong leaders.
Great Post Art. I especially like the idea of an early warning system.
Excellent post Art! out of the 8 great points, 2 and 3 got my attention. True authentic leaders embrace that seed of feeding their souls with a dose of generosity, grow it and carry it out properly for common good yet they have a mindset to set their organizations up for long-term success, and bring body, mind, and spirit into the workplace to go above and beyong the call of duty to work with true meaning to enhance the bottom line. Unseen elements that can help solve problems nowadays. Thanks. Javier!
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Laziness and arrogance categorize most individuals at some point in time through out ones career. People have very busy lives outside of work and if they have a lapse in being mentally strong they begin to let up. Reasons start popping up, excuses and explanations as to why you are feeling lazy.
Arrogance usally comes into play when a person feels as if they know everything and that others have little to offer since they already know everything. This is a very dangerous trap for leaders to fall into. I really enjoyed the suggestions to help prevent laziness and arrogance. Moving your body is excellent for the mind. I believe exercise helps my mind frame tremendously. Reading is also important since you can never stop trying to learn. The last suggestion I thought was great was doing something humbling outside of work.
Art, thanks for the refreshing post. When I get out of balance and forget to take care of myself, my work life and my personal life suffer. I work full time and carry a full-time MBA load, but I always make sure I exercise at least 20 minutes a day. I also meditate for about ten minutes every morning and do some reflective writing at night before bed. I find this does wonders to keep me centered. Thanks again for the post!