There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance. Do you know what it is?

Think of Yourself Less

There's a fine line between confidence and arrogance; it's called humility.

“People with humility don’t think less of themselves. They just think about themselves less.” ~ Ken Blanchard

I’ve worked with thousands of front line blue-collar workers across various industries in many different parts of the U.S.A. and Mexico. They are some of the most dedicated, hard-working, and loyal people I’ve had the privilege of working with and learning from. They also know how to make things happen!

They have taught me a lot, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.

I’ve always been a seeker of knowledge. When I was on the front lines, I was never happy to just load the machines and push the buttons. I wanted to know why we did things a certain way. I wanted to know how we did it in the past. And most importantly, I wanted to figure out how we could do it better and be more productive in the future. I’m simply curious about everything.

If you’re not curious, you need to become curious about being curious. How do you do that? Use a beginner’s mindset.

What does it look like to have a beginner’s mindset when it comes to curiosity? It looks very much like the little girl who kept asking her mother question after question. Finally the mother cried, “For heaven’s sake, stop asking so many questions. Curiosity killed the cat.”

After two minutes of thinking, the little girl asked, “So what did the cat want to know?”

I can relate. Since I’m always interested in learning more, I ask a lot of questions. My favorite questions is: Why? When you ask “Why?” your entire life, you get the opportunity to learn more than just the answers to all the questions you’re asking. You get to learn about the character of the people providing the answers.

When it comes to knowing what you’re doing on the front lines, I’ve discovered there are primarily three groups of people:

1. People who don’t want to share any knowledge because they are insecure and feel threatened by others knowing what they know.
2. People who are happy to share their knowledge with you because they want to help you learn. Their focus is on helping you grow and move forward.
3. People who are happy to share their knowledge with you because they want to feel special. Their focus is on appearing to be smarter than you, and anyone else for that matter.

I’ll discuss those who don’t want to share knowledge late in the book. For now, let’s focus on those who do.

Group two wants to help because they value helping you and are able to do so because they have the knowledge and experience. The people in this group are sharp and come across as having confidence because they also have humility.

“Humility means knowing and using your strength for the benefit of others, on behalf of a higher purpose. The humble leader is not weak, but strong…is not pre-occupied with self, but with how best to use his or her strengths for the good of others. A humble leader does not think less of himself, but chooses to consider the needs of others in fulfilling a worthy cause. We love to be in the presence of a humble leader because they bring out the very best in us. Their focus is on our purpose, our contribution, and our ability to accomplish all we set out to accomplish.” ~ Alan Ross

Group three wants to help because they value appearing smarter than others and are able to do so because they also have the knowledge and experience. The people in this group are sharp too but come across as being arrogant because they don’t have humility.

The only difference between the two groups of people with a desire to help is humility. Confidence without humility is called arrogance. I’m sure you’ve seen both on the front lines.

Which type of person do you prefer to get your information from? A confident person? Or, an arrogant person? Which person would have more positive influence on the front lines? Are you arrogant or confident?

If you truly want to lead from the front lines and be recognized for your leadership ability with or without a position, you must be willing to freely and openly share your knowledge with others.

But, when it comes to “creating your future” you have a choice to make. Will your future be based on a foundation of arrogance or confidence? It’s a choice only you can make.

When it comes to leading from the front lines with moral authority, trust is the foundation of influence. If you come across as arrogant, you present a me attitude. If you come across as confident, you present a we attitude.

People with a me attitude create distrust with others and have less influence. People with a we attitude build trust with others and have more influence.

Confident people also build trust by telling you they don’t know when they don’t know because they value helping you and realize misleading you doesn’t help. But, arrogant people tend to create distrust by pretending to know when they don’t, or worse, lie about it because they value appearing smart.

“We all know that perfection is a mask. So, we don’t trust the people behind know-it-all masks. They’re not being honest with us. The people with whom we have the deepest connection are those who acknowledge their weaknesses.” ~ Parker Palmer

What our clients are saying...

"My first words are, GET SIGNED UP! This training is not, and I stress, not your everyday leadership seminar! I have never been apart of anything like it. After 30 years in technology and two years in Concrete Construction, I have attended dozens and sent hundreds to the so-called 'Leadership-Training.' I can tell you that while all of the courses, classes, webinars, and seminars, had good intentions, nothing can touch what Mack and Ria Story provide. I just wish I had it 20 years ago...I could go on-and-on. We had 98% in attendance and 100% of the team that attended said that they were 'blown-away, they did not see their conviction and passion coming.' Many thanks, Mack and Ria!" ~ Sam McLamb, COO/VP CMP Pumping, Inc.

Sam provided the words above in a formal LinkedIn recommendation a few days after taking advantage of my special blue-collar industry offer below. He is already making plans to do it again!

SPECIAL BLUE-COLLAR LEADERSHIP OFFER

What I will do for you…

If you or your leaders will invest in your team, I will too because I value growing and developing the great people in the blue-collar workforce regardless of their title or position. I’ll pay all of my expenses to travel anywhere in the USA to conduct up to 4 hours of complimentary, on site leadership development training for any size group, large or small, at any level. This is my money and my time, not corporate money on company time. Why do I make this offer? Because, I have a passion for growing and developing the often overworked, overlooked, and underdeveloped blue-collar workforce and those who lead them.

Click here to watch a short testimonial from a blue-collar leader who went through many of my 1/2 day on site, leadership development workshops.

What you must do for your team…

Purchase 200 copies (direct from me for $3,600) of any combination of my three Blue-Collar Leadership Series books and/or Change Happens: Leading Yourself and Others through Change and distribute them to your blue-collar workforce. (We're paid up to $20,000 to speak. However, we waive our speaking fees for blue-collar leaders who are willing to invest in their team and take advantage of this special offer.)

Note: 52 weeks X 40 hours = 2,080 hours per year. $18.00 per book per person / 2,080 hours = $.009 (less than a penny per hour per person annualized investment)

Learn more about the 4 books (available as paperback, eBook, and AudioBook) below that are included in this special offer:

• Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading from the Front Lines
• Blue-Collar Leadership & Supervision: Unleash Your Team’s Potential
• Blue-Collar Kaizen: Leading Lean & Lean Teams
• Change Happens: Leading Yourself and Others through Change

I'm happy to get on a complimentary call at 334-728-4143. Let’s make it happen! 

Note: This offer is limited to on-site training within Blue-Collar industries and does not include conferences, seminars, etc. Learn more about my unique Blue-Collar Leadership content at www.BlueCollarLeadership.com.

Visit our Top Story Leadership online store to browse our 20 books on personal growth and leadership development. Then, shop there or search for them on Amazon as paperback, eBook, and many are also available there on audio too.

Note: I encourage you to be a river, not a reservoir. Please share my blogs with others if you find value in them. I believe in abundance and write them to help others become more effective, successful, and significant.

Make an impact!

Mack Story

I help leaders engage the front line to improve the bottom line.