Working hard to achieve great outcomes is a serious business.
No one achieves sustained success without a healthy dose of focus and urgency. The seriousness with which leaders apply themselves, treating even the smallest details as important, allows them to produce exceptional results.
A serious and weighty approach to results is a tremendous asset when it is applied to the tasks at hand. But if that seriousness is allowed to corrupt the identity and self-image of the leader, it then becomes a huge liability.
Leaders who take themselves too seriously act imperially and inflict a host of ailments on those around them.
Any time a leader begins to view themselves as an indispensable source of insight and wisdom, they stand on the cliff edge of self-worship. In extreme cases, these leaders huff and puff their way to bad behavior they can no longer see or control.
As they blind themselves with self-importance, imperial leaders view their own goals and priorities as much more important than those of others, often dismissing anyone else’s focus as inconsequential and not worthy of their time.
To make matters worse, imperial leaders involve themselves in everybody else’s work, directing traffic and asserting their views indiscriminately. They demand to be included in anything they deem as important and attempt to control every detail.
Not surprisingly, they become frustrated and angry when people disagree with them or resist their views. When things don’t go their way, they often act out and remind people about how vitally important they are.
Because they take themselves too seriously and allow this emphasis to bleed into their sense of self, they often view themselves as superior to others and act accordingly.
They are generally poor listeners and become insufferable as they talk incessantly about themselves while looking to others to confirm their greatness. Their inflated sense of self-worth wears on people as they are prone to lecture and offer unsolicited advice at the most inopportune times.
If you know someone who takes themselves way too seriously, by now you’re likely smiling and crying at the same time. Don’t ever let yourself fall into this trap. The line between taking your work seriously and taking yourself too seriously can appear blurry at times but it really shouldn’t.
There is simply no good reason for you to allow the pursuit of success to color the way you see yourself. Take the work seriously, but leave the baggage of imperialism to those who wear crowns.
As the English philosopher and critic G.K. Chesterton so aptly stated, “Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.” Be sure to always take yourself lightly as well.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
