“If pride were an illness, more than half of us would be dead.”
(Si la superbia fussi ‘nfirmitati nni murissiru cchiù di la mitati)
This Sicilian proverb turns arrogance into a fatal epidemic. It is not about healthy dignity, but the inflated pride that refuses to listen, hides mistakes, and blinds judgement.
It is a scalpel disguised as humour.
It takes a universal human flaw — arrogance — and exaggerates it into a fatal epidemic, implying that it is far more widespread than most will admit.
In leadership, this pride is dangerous: it isolates decision-makers, poisons negotiations, and stalls conflict resolution.
Humility, by contrast, is not weakness but a survival skill — the immunity that lets leaders admit error, adapt, and earn trust.
In short, if pride were truly a disease, the healthiest leaders would be those with the strongest immunity — built through self-awareness, empathy, and the courage to say, I might be wrong.