by John C. Maxwell

Pull a ten-dollar bill from your pocket, and you will see the face of Alexander Hamilton on the front. By merit of his accomplishments, Hamilton should be one of our greatest national heroes. Consider his contributions to America:

• Revolutionary War hero
• George Washington’s chief of staff by age twenty-two
• America’s first Secretary of the Treasury
• Coauthor of “The Federalist Papers”
• Creator of the Coast Guard
• Designer of the nation’s banking and finance system
• Architect of a system of tax collection to bring revenue 
   to the United States government
• Builder of the infrastructure for an industrial economy

Yet, despite displaying the greatest blend of legal, political and financial knowledge of the Founding Fathers, Hamilton does not rank among the foremost heroes of our country’s history. Why? Pride. Hamilton’s self-importance and inability to take an insult alienated those around him and sabotaged his career. His ego literally killed him. Far too vain to patch up differences with fellow politician Aaron Burr, Hamilton was shot and killed by Burr in a duel at the age of forty-nine.

Pride—A Leader’s Greatest Problem
There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. Good pride represents our dignity and self-respect. Bad pride is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance. When you look at the word pride, notice the middle letter is “i”. When you are full of pride on the inside, it makes you stiff, stubborn, and creates strife with others.

The Problems of Pride
Pride Stops Us from Building a Team.
Prideful leaders readily contract “Superman Syndrome” and devalue the benefits of teamwork. They rely on their own prowess to solve problems and advance the organization. Blinded by their self-centeredness, arrogant leaders are unable to appreciate the strengths in others.

Pride Renders Us Unteachable.
Leaders who are assured they know everything don’t bother about personal growth. Their ego convinces them that they have arrived, and they quit searching for life’s lessons in the people and circumstances around them.

Pride Closes Our Mind to Feedback.
Pride deafens us to the advice or warnings of those around us. As Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, has said, “It takes humility to seek feedback. It takes wisdom to understand it, analyze it, and appropriately act on it.” Without humility, we care about only one opinion—our own.

Pride Prevents Us from Admitting Mistakes.
The Duke of Wellington once haughtily drew himself up to his full height and thundered to one of his staff officers, “God knows I have many faults, but being wrong is not one of them!” Pride won’t allow for failure. The egotistical leader blames mistakes on others, justifies them as inevitable, or refuses to acknowledge them.

Pride Keeps Us from Making Changes.
Pride will cause leaders to pledge allegiance to the status quo rather than opening themselves to change, especially if the change alters a system they built. Since leaders have emotional equity in their own work, they will justify living with broken systems rather than changing them.

Pride Hinders Us from Reaching Our Potential.
For leaders to reach full potential, they must be aware of areas in which they can improve. Unfortunately, pride blocks honest self-assessment and prevents leaders from finding the path to better performance.

Pride Destroys Relationships.
The opposite of loving others is not hating others but rather obsessing over oneself. When we become self-absorbed, we cut ourselves off from the enjoyment of the relationships in our life. What I call “The Celebration Principle” says the true test of relationships is not how loyal we are when friends fail, but how thrilled we are when they succeed. If we can’t get excited about the accomplishments of our friends, we had better do some soul-searching.

How to Correct the Pride Problem
Proverbs 11:2 says, When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom (NIV). C.S. Lewis has said that the way to obtain humility is to first realize that one is proud. Humility is the complete opposite of pride. It is the demonstration of our service to others and our true love for God.

After acknowledging that pride exists, becoming a servant to others, expressing gratitude for what you have, praying for guidance and correction, and learning to laugh at yourself will correct a pride problem.

As you step into leadership roles, remember Alexander Hamilton. You can have dozens of accomplishments, but without humility and gratitude, you will not be a truly successful leader. Taking care of pride issues now will improve your relationships and give you a God-given credibility as a leader.

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This article is used by permission from Dr. Maxwell’s free monthly e-newsletter, Leadership Wired .