Does Your Pride Get in the Way?

• Author: David V. Lorenzo
• Pages: 3-4

Does Your Pride Get in the Way? §2.

3

§2.

DOES YOU R PRI DE GE T I N T HE WAY?

One of the benefits of getting older is learning from experience. I guess they call it the wisdom

that comes from old age. Even though I am far from old, I have always embraced the knowledge

I have acquired as a result of making mistakes.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that the temporary pain of making an embarrass-

ing mistake is exactly what I needed in order to sear the learning into my mind.

It’s like getting a vaccination. You inject a dose of the disease into the bloodstream so that you can

prevent a full blown outbreak. A little stupidity, if caught early on, can help prevent a lot of stupidity

later in life.

Unfortunately there is one type of mistake that is painful even in the smallest dose.

About fifteen years ago I started a new job with significant responsibility. The job was packed

with pressure and it required technical knowledge as well as people skills. Having managed peo-

ple before, I was more concerned about acquiring the technical knowledge necessary to become

proficient.

The people who worked for me were excellent at the technical aspects of the business. And

they were willing to teach me what I needed to learn. But I refused. I wanted to learn these skills

for myself. I was afraid that if the employees taught me, their boss, about the technical aspects of

the job, they would not respect me.

Boy was I wrong.

I struggled to learn the technical aspects of the role from manuals and videos. I made numerous

mistakes in front of the employees as I tried to bluff my way though each day. I damaged my reputa-

tion within the ranks of my people until finally, after a long painful period of time, I asked for help.

I could have shortened the learning curve. But something got in my way. That something is

the one thing that holds many people back.

What was this powerful force that prevented me from acting in my own best interest?

Pride.

My pride manifested itself in the fear of embarrassment associated with asking for help.

My own foolish pride kept me from growing as a leader and as a businessperson.

Now that I am older and have seen pride hold me back a few times in my career I know to ignore

that feeling and ask for help when I need it.