A short while back I was discussing how Bill Gates achieved his financial success. Part of it was arrogance. I was questioned about that statement.
I cannot say that I have known many CEOs who are arrogant. It is not a universal nor even a common quality.
However, there is a strange element of almost all business leaders that is identifiable. To some extent they would have to be called ‘sociopaths’. They do see the world as clay for them to mold and shape. They do see other people as susceptible to their guidance or wile.
However the negative aspects of sociopathy do not seem to appear among the CEOs I have known. They are usually very determined, charming and capable of bearing the burden of hostility from others. Or ignoring it.
Maybe we need another term than ‘sociopath’. Maybe we need a term for beneficial sociopathy.
In thinking about arrogance, a related subject, I couldn't help think about the stories about Steve Jobs. He was arrogant. He refused to replace his hippie demeanor except when he wanted money from banks or Wall Street. He was so arrogant that he killed himself with his monomaniacal food and health obsessions.
There is no question that Steve Jobs was a very different kind of leader than we find in almost any other bureaucracy or business. I don't think arrogance is a common leadership trait.