When Arrogance Works Against You: Leadership Lessons From The Titan Submersible Disaster

I recently watched Titan: The OceanGate Disaster, a powerful and unsettling documentary that left me thinking about the real-world consequences of toxic leadership.

It’s a film that, beyond its technical storyline, explores something far deeper and far more common:

What happens when arrogance in leadership goes unchecked?

At its core, the documentary isn’t just about a failed deep-sea expedition. It’s a case study in how ego, poor judgment and the refusal to listen can destroy lives. It tells the story of Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, who led the Titan submersible mission to view the wreck of the Titanic, an expedition that tragically ended with the deaths of all five passengers on board.

But what’s most chilling is that this tragedy wasn’t unpredictable or unavoidable. It was the result of deliberate choices, of ignoring expert advice and of silencing dissent.

The Warnings That Were Ignored

David Lochridge, OceanGate’s former Director of Marine Operations, was one of the first to sound the alarm. He raised serious safety concerns about the submersible’s carbon fibre hull, which had visible flaws like porosity and delamination. Instead of being thanked for his vigilance, he was fired. In the documentary, Lochridge’s frustration is palpable: “They had every opportunity to stop this before it got to that point,” he says. “But they didn’t.”

Another former employee, Tony Nissen, recalled how Rush refused to acknowledge the risks even after the Titan was struck by lightning in 2018, damaging the hull. “He wouldn’t give an inch,” Nissen said. When Nissen refused to approve another dive without further testing, he too was dismissed. This wasn’t just a difference in opinion; it was a pattern of punishing those who challenged the CEO’s authority.

Project manager Emily Hammermeister expressed lingering guilt about her time at OceanGate, describing a culture where safety took a back seat to pushing boundaries. “You felt it,” she says in the film. “It wasn’t safe. But if you said that, you weren’t a team player.”

These are not just dramatic quotes, they are echoes of a corporate culture that many people will recognise. The only difference is that in most workplaces, toxic leadership results in burnout or disengagement. In this case, it resulted in five deaths.

A Familiar Story in a Different Context

As someone who coaches executives and debriefs 360° assessments regularly, I see this dynamic more often than I wish I did.

With our i4 Neuroleader™ Assessment, we can evaluate leaders across a humility-arrogance spectrum. And what’s alarming is how many leaders don’t realise they’re veering into arrogance until they’re confronted with hard feedback from colleagues, reports, mentors or even family.

And that’s the problem with arrogance: it’s self-reinforcing.

When you’re used to being the smartest person in the room, when you’ve had doors open easily for you, or when you’ve avoided real hardship, it’s easy to believe your instincts are infallible. Add a leadership position into the mix and you have the perfect recipe for dangerous blind spots.

Sometimes, arrogance is psychological, rooted in brain patterns that inhibit self-awareness. Other times, it’s cultural, created and sustained by environments where disagreement is punished, and praise is weaponised. Either way, it erodes trust, stifles innovation and, in extreme cases like OceanGate, becomes life-threatening.

What You Can Do Right Now

If you’re reading this and wondering, “Could this be me?”, first, congratulations. The fact that you’re even asking is a sign of humility.

Here’s what I recommend:

• Ask for feedback from people who see you under pressure: your team, your peers, even your spouse.
  
  
• Don’t settle for generalities. Ask for specific examples of when you came across as arrogant, dismissive or inflexible.
  
  
• Compare those stories to your self-perception. Does how you think you show up match how others experience you?
  
  
• Look at your culture. Are people afraid to challenge you? Do you hear more flattery than honest feedback?

Leading mean does not mean having to be right all the time. It’s about creating conditions where the best ideas can surface, especially when they challenge your own.

From Mirror To Model: How Arrogance Shows Up in Leadership

Leadership isn’t defined by title, it’s revealed in everyday actions: how we respond to feedback, make decisions, handle conflict and show up in moments of pressure.

Below is a simple framework comparing five common leadership behaviours through two lenses: arrogance and humility. Use it not as a diagnosis, but as a mirror. Where do you tend to land?

Final Thoughts

The Titan submersible disaster is a sobering reminder that arrogance in leadership is not just a personality flaw, it can be fatal. When leaders expand their vision above basic safety, when they reject feedback and ridicule caution, they don’t just create toxic workplaces, they create deadly environments.

Don’t wait for disaster to become self-aware. Let the voices of people like David Lochridge and Tony Nissen remind you of what’s at stake. The most visionary leaders are those who know when to step back, listen and change course, even if it bruises their ego.

Choose humility. Build a culture where people feel safe speaking up. And remember: no innovation, no matter how bold, is worth a life.

Sources:

• The Guardian. (2025, June 11). ‘Absolutely shocking’: Netflix documentary examines how the Titan sub disaster happened. 
• Entertainment Weekly. (2025, June 11). The 5 biggest takeaways from “Titan: The OceanGate Disaster”: Narcissism, hubris, and a ‘cult-like’ operation. Business Insider. (2025, June 12). OceanGate’s former chief pilot says he was ‘cut out’ from the Titan project after telling CEO Stockton Rush the sub wasn’t safe.
• The Sun. (2025, June 13). Chilling audio of doomed Titan sub boss ‘sacking engineer who questioned mission’s safety’ before implosion tragedy.
• Law & Crime. (2023, June 20). OceanGate whistleblower raised safety concerns: lawsuit.
• TechCrunch. (2023, June 20). A whistleblower raised safety concerns about OceanGate’s submersible in 2018, then he was fired.
• Netflix. (2025). Titan: The OceanGate Disaster.
• Lipman-Blumen, J. (2005). The allure of toxic leaders: Why we follow destructive bosses and corrupt politicians—and how we can survive them. Oxford University Press.
• Dunning, D. (2011). The Dunning–Kruger effect: On being ignorant of one’s own ignorance. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology