Have you encountered a person with a mindset of superiority? She/he is a
person who thinks that he is above everyone else. When you talk to him he would
always try to impress upon you that what he is saying is always right. That he
knows more that what you know and that he is far more superior than you.
In an organizational setting many managers and leaders have this mindset
of superiority. They deluge themselves that they are far more superior than
their subordinates because they occupy a higher position than they are.
Managers and leaders often times think that because of the position and
authority that they hold they are automatically above everyone else in his
organization.
Can authority, power and position automatically give a manager/leader
sweeping superiority over everyone else in an organization? No, it doesn’t give
a manager/leader sweeping superiority over everyone else in the organization.
For example in terms of job knowledge. A lower ranked employee who does
his job everyday or who is a specialist in his field can easily have
superiority over his manager/leader. Therefore it is not healthy for a
manager/leader to have a sweeping superiority mindset over his subordinates.
However, where does this feeling and behavior of superiority comes from?
It emanates from the leader/manager’s
exaggerated sense of self-importance and arrogance. It originates also from the
leader/manager’s lack of humility and it’s his behavioral defense mechanism to
conceal his feeling of inferiority.
A wisdom filled manager/leader should discard whatever trace of
superiority in his behavioral system. And he should never put himself in a
pedestal for the simple reason that it will never help him effectively manage
his office.
In hindsight, it has been proven again and again that great and wisdom
filled leaders/managers are those who are humble and those who do not have any
sign of superiority mindset. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
