Oops, I did it again. I came off as arrogant. Now, I’ve been called arrogant 4 times during my professional journey.
Each time it hurt my heart. Because I don’t mean to be perceived that way. Ever. Full stop.
Arrogance is the flip side of my self-confidence strength. And when I show up as overly self-confident in the eyes of others, they can see me as arrogant. This used to be (and sometimes still is) a blind spot for me.
The missing piece is that in most cases I am using my self-confidence strength with positive intent — I want to help. I want to cheerlead. I want to make sure someone else sees their own greatness.
But that doesn’t always work. And now that I am more self-aware of the strengths I can overdo (perseverance is another one — boy can I look stubborn sometimes), I can see and feel it happening. And most of the time I can dial it back and save myself.
But not always. Ahh, still a work in progress.
What strengths do you tend to overdo? And are they limiting your effectiveness when you don’t realize how they’re affecting others?
Think about it. And if you need help uncovering your overdone strengths, reach out. I’ve got a terrific assessment that shines the light on them for you — so you can better manage perceptions in the future.