A World Class Ego

ego

ˈiːɡəʊ,ˈɛːɡəʊ/

noun: a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance.

“he needed a boost to his ego”

Synonyms: self-worth, self-respect, self-conceit, self-image, self-confidence, amour propre

We all have egos

But the ego of a corporate manager is stronger than most. Beyond a point we don’t work for the money. Power and status drive us. We even call ourselves leaders, not managers.

There is an argument that true leaders are driven by a higher purpose.  But let’s be honest, whilst some managers may have an ethical calling, they are in the minority in the corporate world.  Most of us are hell-bent on building empires and reaping bonuses.

As a rule of thumb, the bigger the manager the bigger the ego.

No doubt a few of you are bristling at this, but I bet you can think of a “Vice President” or two with an ego that you’d struggle to puncture with an elephant gun.

Ego gets in the way

Our egos might drive us to lead organisations, but they don’t drive us to lead them well.  Our egos come primed with a handful of ruinous beliefs:

Belief 1 — We know best

Because we know best we disregard other’s views:

• We don’t listen to those below us.  We got promoted, not them. Clearly our ideas are best. What could they know that we don’t?
• We don’t listen to those along side us.  They are our competitors for the next job. There is no need to make them look good.
• We don’t really listen to those above us.  We want to show how capable we are.  Nobody wants to be labelled as a yes man.

If you don’t listen, how are you going to learn?

Belief 2 — We must take charge

We dominate others so we can rise through the pecking order, telling people what to do and using the carrot and the stick to make sure they do it.  The people we “lead” need to be “managed”.  In a corporate environment we take charge with targets, incentives and appraisals.

But all targets and incentives ever do is create dysfunctional behaviour.  And as for appraisals… exerting your god given right to tell somebody they are “good” is unlikely to win them over.  Better still, telling somebody they are “below standard” will make sure that they are “below standard”.

Controlling others doesn’t get the best out of them. Never has, never will.

Belief 3 — We must never admit that we got things wrong

We must be seen to be doing a good job at all times, anything less damages our self-image.  So at the slightest sniff of a problem our egos scream at us to:

• Deflect attention away from things that could be improved.
• Demand that we declare everything as green.
• Find a scapegoat.

But if you can’t admit that something isn’t working, what hope do you have of improving it?

Belief 4 — We are special

So it is right to look after our own needs first.  We travel first class, leaving our teams to make their own way.  We take the corner office and close the door.  We make sure that we get that bonus and to hell with everybody else.

Looking after yourself first doesn’t do much for trust and collaboration.

The dilemma

You will struggle to climb the slippery slope if your ego doesn’t push you on.  If you don’t “need” to sit in the C Suite then you never will.   It is hard work, it won’t happen if it isn’t important to you.

But having a world class ego won’t make you a world class manager.  If your ego can’t eat a good dose of humble pie then your organisation won’t ever be any good.

You will just be another Rolex wearing suit, a legend in your own imagination.

Everyone thinks of changing the world but nobody thinks of changing himself ~ Leo Tolstoy

If you enjoyed this post click here to receive the next

Read another opinion

Image by Neil Moralee