Gravitas, self-assuredness, competitiveness, drive, and optimism are powerful ingredients for success in the C-suite. Most people don’t get there without a hefty dose of (at least outward) confidence. It’s not uncommon for bold, ambitious leaders to rub a few the wrong way and cause others to ask: “Are they confident…or cocky?” So when is “too confident”…too much?  Much like a bold cabernet or a spicy siracha, it depends on what it’s paired with. Take pause when high confidence is also accompanied by: 

• An inability or unwillingness to see one’s own behavior through other people’s eyes.
• An exceptionally high need for autonomy and a lack of respect for authority. 
• Emotional volatility and an undercurrent of deep insecurity.
• An excessively high need for credit, praise, attention, and accolades.

Many respected and accomplished leaders have benefitted from being knocked down a rung or two along their climb, helping them embrace humility, empathy, or a greater sense of purpose (and putting the ego in check). It happens, and people grow from it. But the combinations above suggest that evolution is unlikely. So, debating hiring a mid-career CIO who is “brilliant” but has a hefty ego and fancies himself a maverick who charts his own course…might think twice.