Don't Trip on Your Ego.

Good leaders “walk-the-talk” and model the expected behavior and traits we ask of the people we lead.  To successfully lead others, we first have to manage ourselves.  Time management, respectful behavior, meeting commitments, integrity, work ethic, etc.  Today, let’s talk about ego.

It takes a team to succeed.  A big factor in that, other than communication, is keeping everyone’s egos in check.  As a team we succeed or fail together.  A strong ego dominating the team and making everything about that person demoralizes everyone, discourages innovation and creativity, and kills productivity.  Does your ego play a role in your leadership style?

  • Do you find it hard to delegate responsibility?

  • Do you implement others’ suggestions, or is your knee-jerk impulse to shoot them down?

  • When others have a good idea, do you give them credit for it?

  • Do you tend to micromanage projects?

  • Do you facilitate every meeting?

  • Is it all about you?

If you answered yes to any of these, perhaps it’s time for an ego check.  Here are some ideas:

  • Pick a project languishing on your to-do list and hand it off to someone else, AND LET THEM RUN WITH IT ON THEIR OWN. Getting it done, even imperfectly, beats not getting it done at all.

  • Start soliciting others’ suggestions and then implement some even if you privately think they're silly. As long as they don't do any harm, the benefits you'll reap are worth it.

  • Instead of leading every meeting ask others to take turns facilitating. You might be surprised by what you learn.

Sure, it's nice to be the Top Dog, the Big Kahuna, the Grand Poohbah, etc. of your domain, but in the end that's not what solid leadership is about, and it’s not scaleable.  What message are you sending to your team? Are you on an ego trip?

“More the Knowledge, Lesser the Ego; Lesser the Knowledge, More the Ego.”  – Albert Einstein

“Ego is a social fiction for which one person at a time gets all the blame.” – Robert Anton Wilson

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