Entrepreneurs and leaders who achieve long-awaited success often suffer from:
1. Overconfidence. Exceptional success can only be achieved through talent and hard work, but no one is perfect. When self-perceptions surpass achievement, leaders can become dangerously overconfident.
2. Narcissism. When people are the driving factor behind an organization’s success, it can often lead to an overly flattering self-image.
3. Isolation. Success and an increased role within an organization can lead lower-level employees to insulate leaders from bad news and the consequences of failure, which only ends up isolating them and fueling bad behavior.
4. Reduced self-control. Isolation can lead to increasingly eccentric behavior as people begin to act without fear of consequences.
Leaders who want to guard against these negative side effects of success should foster humility by welcoming a system of checks and balances within their organizations and allow themselves to be eminently coachable. If those around leaders feel comfortable giving both positive and negative feedback, it is unlikely they will fall prey to the dark side of success.
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