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There is something revealing about what happens when insecurity is given authority.

Some people spend much of their lives feeling overlooked, underestimated, or powerless. Then suddenly, they are promoted.

They receive a title, a position, a uniform, or simply the ability to make decisions that affect other people, and something changes. Not necessarily because they have become more confident, but because their position now provides the validation they previously lacked.

I call this attitude at altitude.

The higher they climb, the more they may confuse authority with personal superiority. They become demanding because they can. They become dismissive because their position allows it. They exercise power not because the situation requires it, but because possessing power finally makes them feel significant.

True confidence does not need to dominate. A secure leader can listen, admit mistakes, and use authority responsibly because their sense of worth does not depend upon controlling others, but insecurity at the top can become dangerous.

The position becomes an extension of the ego. Perhaps that is why authority does not always reveal someone's character. Sometimes, it amplifies what was already there. Give a confident person power, and they may empower others. Give an insecure person power, and they may finally discover an audience for their insecurity because altitude does not create attitude.

It simply gives everyone a better view of it.