An often discussed topic about business leadership is ego, and often involves highly visible and successful leaders. Some examples include:
A quick Google search returns more than 1,770,000 references to “Egos in Business.” Though many stories about egocentrics are often unflattering, the truth is that leadership perception is situational.
For example, when a company is at the edge of collapse, a leader with an inflated ego may be able to drive his way to success. While an authoritative egocentric leader may be able to stave off catastrophe in the short term, you need to examine whether that attitude is sustainable across the enterprise over the longer term.
Different business situations may require different leadership styles, and those leaders who are egocentric by nature CAN be a good match at different times in the corporate growth cycle.
Whose Reality? Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great,” observes: “The moment a leader allows himself to become the primary reality people worry about, rather than reality being the primary reality, you have a recipe for mediocrity, or worse. This is why less charismatic leaders often produce better long-term results than their more charismatic counterparts.”
Consider these character traits of the egotist:
An egoist's insight may depend on self-assessment, because rarely will people in organizations give senior leaders feedback in this area.
Ask yourself: does your behavior mirror the traits above, or are you more focused on the performance of your team and your organization? What is the reality about you and your company? If you acknowledge you have an ego challenge and want to change, you need to do less telling, more guiding, and more listening. You may want to delegate more, ask about outcomes, and request check-ins at pre-determined time intervals, rather than injecting yourself into each and every process and project.
Ultimately, you want to build trust as a leader between you and those around you. Enable others to succeed and be recognized if you want your company to truly prosper. Call us when you need help. We can help you develop strategies that will get you where you want to go. The first test whether your ego MIGHT be on the inflated side, is if you just read the last sentence and thought: “I don’t need any help!” Most of us can use some leadership help from time to time.
But My Boss is the Problem! If your boss has an ego problem, then YOU may have a problem advancing your career. It’s hard to be recognized if the boss insists you are simply a supporting role in his marquee performance. In addition, your company may have a problem because his ego may blind him to facts and feedback of the real health of the company.
What are your choices? Begin by reading my March 2005 newsletter that discusses the power of asking good questions to reveal critical information on “Confronting the Brutal Facts.” You may hope to complement your boss’ ego by being the compulsive detail person who gets the job done and hopes that your effort gets recognized. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes an egocentric boss just takes all the credit. Another option is to freshen your resume and start looking for an environment that supports team play and not the egocentric star performer.
In many cases we can help you work out reasonable strategies to help you filter through your options and prioritize them, BEFORE you're faced with an exodus of key team players. We help leaders develop skills to build their leadership bench-strength.
Leadership Coaching Newsletter is written and produced by Wendy Capland. If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: wcapland@visionquestconsulting.com. We'd love to hear from you.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit our website: Click Here. Feel free to forward this newsletter. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute as long as copyright and full author contact information is included. Thank you. Copyright Wendy Capland 2000 - 2005. All rights reserved.