Perhaps one of the common mistakes among leaders of the past and even at present is their tendency to develop a sense of hubris, which is defined as having excessive pride, or being too arrogant. Throughout history, many leaders have fallen victim to this inimical trait.
For example, Napoleon Bonaparte’s (not to mention, Adolf Hitler’s) decision to invade Russia was a form of hubris thus leading to their demise. Hubris dates thousands of years back, plaguing Alexander the Great when he did not stop expanding his empire which consequently led to problems in controlling his territories and became the eventual downfall of his empire after his untimely death.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur, a famous historical figure, is also known for being a hubristic leader. He admitted that he always had the connections and would often dabble in military politics – writing letters to high-ranking officials whenever he gets in trouble or finds the need to ask for help to further his personal agenda. Typical MacArthur aplomb – he was not afraid to go against people, even those above him, as he felt that he was a special person (someone as – or even more – important than his fellow officers). As a result, some officers (both senior and junior) and men under him disliked MacArthur.
Those who have studied the life of MacArthur know this. He was simply not just the savior of the Philippines from the Japanese imperial forces; he was also a difficult person to deal with – a very conceited man who did not see anything wrong with his actions and decisions. But historians – and even US military officers nowadays – have made it a point to learn from his mistakes, and to point out what made him a bad leader.
Suffice it to say, it all boils down to hubris. Former Chief of Staff of the US Army Gen.Mark A. Milley agrees that MacArthur’s shortcoming was his hubris and, according to him, “it led to his [MacArthur’s] downfall when he decided to be insubordinate to President Harry Truman, and of course he was relieved.”
Furthermore, according to General Milley, the panacea to hubris is humility – as he said: “Good leaders are humble leaders. They are servant leaders. It is not about themselves. It’s never about you. It’s about the cause. It’s about the people you serve. Practice that throughout your life and you will rise well above and beyond anything MacArthur ever dreamed of.”
The point here is that hubris does not only affect great leaders in history like Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, or General MacArthur; more often than not, it also affects any individual when they are given the chance to lead – your local managers, directors, supervisors, presidents of organizations or institutions, and so on. The typical trait, which is brough about by these leaders, is that they do not admit their mistakes nor do they think that they are capable of committing mistakes.
Moreover, whenever they do commit mistakes, they refuse to apologize or be accountable for it.
This is common among our leaders [especially politicians] here in the Philippines. Since when did you hear a politician ask for an apology for the faults that they made? You only find quite a few of them here in the Philippines; but you find a lot of them in Japan, most of whom are honorable enough to resign their posts whenever they have committed a mistake, egregious or not.
Quite recently, there was a kerfuffle that occurred in social media about the Miss Silliman 2024 organizing committee head who openly mocked a Judge during the press launch for airing out their disdain as they were not given water for an hour, and had to ask for it from the organizers – an act which can easily be prevented or remedied.
Instead of asking for an apology, which would have been the appropriate and professional move, the head of this supposedly prestigious event made mocking comments in her social media account concerning this mishap.
Is this a form of hubris? Yes. Why is it so hard to apologize? Even more so, these people only apologize when they are blatantly called out, or when the issue reaches a wider audience in social media – putting their image at stake.
In the end, we really cannot control how people act nor can we easily change how they behave since it all goes back to their upbringing – or how they were raised as children.
Perhaps they can still change; but it takes a lot of time and patience for them to undo what they have learned growing up.
This was MacArthur’s problem – as he was raised by an overbearing mother, and a father who was a war hero during the US Civil War and a well-respected General. This led to his hubristic style of leadership, but at least even with his flaws, he was still able to lead successful military operations which changed the course of history.
What happens to hubristic leaders who are verily inept, but still think they’re making a difference? I don’t know about you, but in my book, they can be called delusional, or having delusions of grandeur.
Unfortunately, I know many people who are like this. The best thing to do is just to distance yourself from them as they’re not good for you. Or, even better, you can call them out and express dissent. Be a dissident and speak truth to power – use your voice to call out these hubristic individuals and perhaps, we may have more competent leaders.
__________________________________
Author’s email: [email protected]
