“The first key to leadership was self-control, particularly the mastery of pride, which was something more difficult to subdue than a wild lion and anger, which was more difficult to defeat than the greatest wrestler.” He warned them that, “If you can’t swallow your pride, you can’t lead.” – Jack Weatherford
You can have success, or you can have pride, but you can’t really have both at the same time.
Don’t get me wrong, having professional pride or pride in the work you do is something wonderful. But that is a different kind of pride which stems from very different reasons.
Professional pride comes from the joy you have from improving yourself, from the fact that the way you complete your tasks this year is better, faster and more correct than the year prior. It stems from the fact that you continuously improve, not necessarily in a day to day and week to week basis, but in an overall manner.
All other forms of pride, at least in the workplace, are just vain attempts of stroking our ego. Now this is simple human nature, and not something to be particularly ashamed of. But things should be proportional and done with measure.
And this is the form of pride that brings out the anger in people. And where you have anger you have loss: money, time, respect, standing etc.
Keep your pride in check and your anger under wrap and you will do fine.