Looking on the bright side of hubris

Hubris is often depicted as indisputably a bad thing, however hubris also has a 'bright side' according to research published recently in the Journal of Management Studies. A qualitative study led by Janina Sundermeier (Freie Universitat Berlin) of hubristic leader behaviours in business start-ups found that whilst hubristic start-up founders are more likely to 'fail overall' they excel in 'creating and communicating visionary scenarios', 'steering employees through critical situations', and 'extracting commitment from third parties'. The researchers concluded that it's important to look at the positive, and not just the negative, manifestations of hubris in leadership behaviours.