Does Pride Destroy Business Relationships?

Have you ever taken a position on an issue at work and refused to budge? You heard compelling evidence, considered it for a moment, but had your conviction rapt by a vague sense of “I will not back down.” If all parties involved refuse to budge, paralysis sets in. Pride surges from heart-mind like a corrosive rain that melts away a relationship nurtured for years.

The ancients warned of the detriments of excessive pride. Religious texts and philosophical treatise are rife with examples of pride’s havoc. Despite all the forewarning, even today pride still plays a devilish role in our relationships. Pride burns hot, demanding attention and incensing the spirits. It places ego at the forefront of our interactions and holds onto its location steadfastly. It will not be moved. It need not be. Relationships will often crumble before one’s pride. The tragedy beyond what is lost is the misperception that fuels pride. 

We sometimes believe, implicitly or explicitly, that compromise or concession is synonymous with defeat. The antidote is intellectual humility. The belief that no one is always right, or beyond that, that right or wrong is simplistic. 

If you start a conversation with intellectual humility you will be more open to change your opinion, to learning. As you sit at the negotiation table, tensions rising, you’ll reflect on that belief and seek common ground. It’ll keep you tempered in the face of piping hot exchanges. Don’t allow yourself to walk away or turn your back on a negotiation just to be correct when so much can be gained from cooperation and compromise. 

And in the business world if you are pinned as a hot head, people won’t want to deal with you. Their confidence in you will evaporate. You will be deemed volatile and unreasonable. 

Pride claims many victims, even our success. 

Pride may wrap itself around our eyes and blind us to constructive criticisms and object lessons. Relationships may be lost obliviously, without any vindicating reflection. It’s not easy to quiet our pride but we should work against it. A good place to start is by looking to those we admire. Ask: What techniques do they use to calm their ego?

A broad horizon is an excellent perspective against the ego-centrism of pride. Remember that we are stronger as many than as one. It is the law of the wild—we had the luxury to forget. That’s precisely what unity can allow us. When we consider our actions as tied to greater purposes that affect the people around us, we ground our thinking in practical concerns, real consequences, and the collective good. Being right becomes secondary to the benefits of compromise. 

When we work together we can accomplish so much more. Don’t let pride confine you to yourself.

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