Deeper People Skills to Not Be Arrogant | #PeopleSkills #Leadership
by Kate Nasser | 8 Comments »
It takes more than listening to avoid being arrogant; it takes deeper people skills. If you are listening to others and thinking they’re stupid, your arrogance will still bubble up. Instead, use all of these deeper people skills to avoid arrogance.
Deeper People Skills to Not Be Arrogant. Image by m01229 via Flickr Creative Commons License.
Deeper People Skills Prevent Being Arrogant
To avoid being arrogant, engage in deeper people skills & communication that focus on …
- Equality vs. Hierarchy. Remember the old saying, everyone is my superior in that I may learn from them (Thomas Carlyle). Instead of trying to be better than others, find how you can all learn from each other.
- Open-mindedness vs. Judgmentalism. Remember that you rarely know the entire picture that drives someone’s thinking. Keep an open mind and you will prevent being arrogant.
- Curiosity vs. Proving. Constant learning is always better than reciting what you already know. It prevents you from being arrogant.
- Showing Respect vs. Getting Validation. Behind most arrogant communication is a desire to get respect and validation. To prevent arrogance, show respect to others and you will earn theirs in return.
- Open-mindedness vs. Judgmentalism. Remember that you rarely know the entire picture that drives someone’s thinking. Keep an open mind and you will prevent being arrogant.
Deeper People Skills – Practical Steps to Not Be Arrogant
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Before you share your knowledge, find out first if anyone wants to know.
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When sharing your knowledge, think first about who is listening and how they think.
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Dialogue don’t give a monologue. Monologues can make you seem full of hot air. Dialogues keep you connected to other’s views.
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When people don’t understand you, don’t blame them. Teaching others is a much harder task that most people think. When you realize you are falling short, try again a different way. Otherwise you will seem arrogant.
Arrogance shows immaturity. It’s like a child who constantly needs to show off their possessions and craves attention and approval. Nobody knows it all and acting like one (i.e. being arrogant) drives people away.
Deeper People Skills – Why Avoid Being Arrogant?
Arrogance creates scars and resentments — many of them hidden. Your arrogance will come back to haunt you and you may not even know why.
Great relationships are key to success in business and in life. People ultimately pull away from arrogance and your arrogance can’t chase them back into your life.
Arrogance stops people from learning. If you don’t learn every day, you are actually going backwards as the rest of the world moves forward.
Leadership, teamwork, morale, and results crumble when arrogance is the culture. Create a culture of respect and dignity and all will flourish.
Whether people have ever hinted that you are being arrogant or you simply want to make sure you never are, use these deeper people skills attitudes and steps. The results are well worth the effort.
From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™
Related Posts:
Does Avoiding Conflict Make You Seem Arrogant & Detached?
23 Common People Skills Mistakes That Make People Leave You
©2018 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading morale, employee engagement, leading change, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.
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I was working in a company as General Manager Administration which has full of arrogant culture. After 17 months resigned. Difficult to maintain my integrity and respect. All words and lines of article are true. I am feeling relief after reading it. I have enough experience to share.
Hi Farrukh,
It makes me feel so grateful to know that this post helped you in some way. And your generous sharing of your story expands everyone’s understanding of just how arrogance impacts people in the workplace.
Many thanks!
Kate
Kindle version coming?
Not sure yet … will have to let you know Brian. The book is available right now on Amazon.com
Thanks,
Kate
This is my favorite line: Before you share your knowledge, find out first if anyone wants to know. Honestly, sometimes it’s that simple. Huffing and puffing your smarts when nobody cares or needs the info is arrogance.
Years ago the org I worked for had a reputation for doing good work and arrogant professionals who thought that they not only knew better than the competition but also knew better than their clients. It was a part of the culture we worked to actively change over time. The people who thought that being called arrogant was a good thing or a badge of honor (and there were many!) needed to come back down to the ground with the rest of us or move on.
Important insights as always, Kate. Will share!
Alli
Hi Alli,
Many thanks. You added an important issue to this discussion — even when you are doing good work, you need to rid the culture of arrogance. The former doesn’t justify arrogance!
Grateful,
Kate
Great post on an important subject. Arrogance is so toxic to an organizational culture that there must be an ongoing effort at all levels to root it out entirely. It should be clear that arrogant behaviors simply will not be tolerated.
Many thanks Frederick. Arrogance is toxic yet so many organizations fail to address it — until the culture and morale has eroded. Everyday behaviors become a culture!
Grateful for your contribution,
Kate