The modern business leader is extremely well paid and often amazingly powerful. Television programmes such as Undercover Boss need to disguise the bosses in order to give them a realistic experience of what real work is like in their organisations. In their large offices they exist ‘behind the mahogany curtain’, often surrounded by hand-picked executives (‘yes men’) who reinforce their views. Outside forces make the situation worse, as governments award knighthoods or OBEs and groups such as the Confederation of British Industry announce the ‘Businessperson of the Year’. It is hard to find an example of a failed boss without a knighthood.
For these reasons, as their time in office develops — especially if economic and competitive factors are benign — leaders move from self-confidence to arrogance to hubris. The latter means an exaggerated pride or self-confidence — the classic ‘pride before a fall’. Nemesis is the ruin that occurs following hubris, probably resulting in humiliation, if not financial ruin.
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe
