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I've yet to work for somebody exhibiting extreme confidence in a work situation who wasnt covering for something - usually a lack of competence.

I've heard stories of "brilliant assholes" but once I've peeled back the layers of these stories I always develop a strong impression that the brilliance is a facade.

My experience with brilliant assholes is that it is combination of self sufficient prophecy and bullying effects. Some people think that being asshole is component of being brilliant and thus they assume you to be brilliant if you act like ass.

And the other component is that assholes often times end up dominating rooms and looking brilliant, because they effectively bully others into being silent. For most people, being silent is better then risking the asshole will target you.

Extreme competence, not confidence.

Someone extremely confident and prone to tantrums is not friendly.

Competence is not necessarily linked with a lack of humility.