Confident, Arrogant, or Just Really Good at Their Job?

 

Navigating High Achievers in the Workplace

When I was younger, I was sometimes accused of being arrogant at work. Maybe occasionally I was. Age and experience have taught me enough humility to acknowledge that possibility. But I also know that sometimes what was perceived as arrogance was simply confidence. I was educated, prepared, good at what I did, and comfortable expressing what I knew.

That distinction matters.

Because managers routinely encounter employees who are highly capable, highly confident, or both. And if we mistake confidence for arrogance, or arrogance for competence, we can make poor leadership decisions in either direction.

So how do we tell the difference?

Arrogance, Confidence, and Competence

They can look remarkably similar from a distance.

A confident employee trusts their abilities. They can usually explain what they know without needing everyone else to know less. They can accept correction; they acknowledge limitations and learn from someone else without feeling diminished.

An arrogant employee may also be talented, but the difference often appears in how they interact with others. Do they dismiss colleagues? Do they need to establish superiority? Can they admit when they're wrong? Can they receive feedback without treating it as a threat?

Then there is something we sometimes overlook:

Training and competence.

Some people aren't trying to be confident at all. They're simply trained.

They have spent years studying their field, practicing their craft, encountering problems, making mistakes, and recognizing patterns. What looks effortless to someone else may represent thousands of hours of preparation.

Ask an experienced professional a question and they may answer immediately. That isn't necessarily arrogance. They may simply know the answer. And that's where perception becomes dangerous.

Perception Isn't Always Reality

We tell employees that perception matters. It does. But managers also have a responsibility to ask whether their perceptions are accurate.

Is this employee actually arrogant? Or are they direct?

Are they dismissive of others? Or do they simply process information quickly?

Are they unwilling to learn? Or are we uncomfortable because they already know something we expected to teach them?

And perhaps most importantly:

Would we interpret the exact same behavior differently if it came from someone else?

Leadership requires enough self-awareness to ask those questions.

So How Do You Manage the High Achiever?

First, don't punish competence.

High achievers need challenges. Giving your strongest employee more of the same work because they're good at it isn't development. Eventually, it's just more work.

Second, give them honest feedback.

Confidence doesn't mean someone has nothing left to learn. In fact, one of the best tests separating confidence from arrogance may be what happens when you say:

“You're very good at this, but here's an area where I think you can be better.”

Watch the response.

Third, give them room to operate.

Someone who has demonstrated competence may not need the same level of supervision as someone still learning the job. Equitable management doesn't mean identical management.

And finally, create somewhere for them to go.

If a talented employee sees no opportunity to grow, contribute at a higher level, mentor others, tackle more complex problems, or advance within the organization, don't be surprised when another organization gives them one.

Maybe We Don't Manage People

I've increasingly wondered whether the phrase managing people is even accurate.

People aren't processes. They have different personalities, experiences, motivations, communication styles, learning preferences, strengths, and ambitions.

Perhaps our job isn't to manage people. Maybe our job is to create conditions in which different people can perform at their best, and that includes the struggling employee.

It includes the developing employee. And yes, it includes the highly confident, highly trained employee who occasionally makes the manager uncomfortable.

Because leadership isn't demonstrated by how well we manage people who are easy to manage. Sometimes it is demonstrated by whether we can recognize talent, understand it, challenge it, and keep it.

Leadership Reflection: how do you distinguish between arrogance and genuine confidence or competence, and how does your organization bring out the best in its highest achievers?

Dr. Flavius A. B. Akerele III, EdD, MBA

#Leadership #TalentDevelopment #HighPerformers #EmployeeDevelopment #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #PeopleLeadership #LeadershipReflection