Spot 👀 the Pride That Strengthens — And the Pride That Spoils

When I started writing these daily messages for a luxury hotel pre‑opening, one of the core values they wanted to address was “pride in yourself and your work.”

But the more I studied pride, the more I realized: not all pride is created equal.

There are two very different kinds:

·       Authentic Pride (Healthy Pride): Earned through effort, discipline, and real accomplishment.

·       Hubristic Pride (Arrogance): Rooted in superiority, ego, and unearned self‑importance.

Put simply:

·      Authentic pride is feeling good about what you’ve done. 

·      Hubris is feeling good about who you think you are.

Both show up in the workplace. One strengthens culture. The other quietly corrodes it.

Leaders must do two things at once:

·       Coach down hubris — because arrogance disrupts teamwork, damages trust, and makes people, as Colton said, “ridiculous.”

·     Recognize and reinforce authentic pride — because it fuels excellence, collegiality, and the confidence people need to do their best work.

This is another form of diversity managers must navigate — not demographic diversity, but behavioral diversity. And it requires skill. 

Budget for the management skills training your leaders need to address these issues. Help them build the confidence, humility, and emotional intelligence to handle both kinds of pride well.

Your managers should feel proud of how they lead, not just that they lead — today.

Charles Caleb Colton (1777 – 1832): English cleric, writer, and collector, well known for his eccentricities.