EGO: A Road-Blocker to Success

EGO IN BUSINESS AND DAY TO DAY LIFE. ===

The overwhelming majority of the people don‘t have overinflated egos, but most people r all capable of letting their egos run rampant on occasion. When this happens, personal success and organization’s performance pay the price.

Colin Luther Powell, a retired four-star general in the US Army says “Don’t let your ego get too close to your position, so that if your position gets shot down, your ego doesn’t go with it”.

Ego is the invisible line item on every company’s profit and loss statement. In a demanding and competitive work environment, tempers can rise and small issues get blown out of proportion. When ego problems crop up, we cannot focus on the task at hand and this could disrupt the entire functioning of an organization.

Can people control ego?

There r simple steps to prevent ego—related tussles. The first thing to remember is that the success of any project is undertaken involves team work. In many cases, one sees projects getting delayed because of ego hassles among team members. This can be very detrimental to an organization. The successful completion of a project should be their only focus. Ultimately, it's up to each of them to manage their egos, conversation by conversation, project by project, meeting by meeting.

Keys to a healthy ego.

The health of a company’s culture is a reflection of the health of the conversations. Ego is a continuum, at one extreme, there is too much. When there have a big ego, then they are overconfident and arrogant.

On the other hand, when they have too little of it, they lack confidence and self-esteem. Humility is the fulcrum that prevents a healthy ego from becoming unhealthy. It has the unique ability to open minds by keeping people curious and interested in others. Unless they r ready to listen and learn, curiosity and veracity won’t even have a chance to enter the game. Discussions and debates that facilitate progress requires to temporarily suspend what they think is best for them so they can consider the best interests of the business.

How to deal with an Ego?

For starters, resist the temptation to fight back as this will trigger a defense mode. The other person thinks he is always right, so remain calm and let him state his opinions and thoughts until he runs out of steam.

Then, he can address other party's claims and make the points calmly and in a confident manner.

Let the other person believe they do indeed know more by asking questions and consulting them.

A big ego is likely to get aggravated if they think we know or have something that they don't and this will trigger them to react.

This should relax them and not urge them to try to overpower us. in case the person with a big fat ego is the immediate line manager, doing so is a must. Once we have softened the ego, with the previous steps and left it in a receptive position with its guard slightly down, we speak our mind and present our message. People should clearly state their objective or objection. Do so in a private fashion so that the ego does not feel it is being undermined in public.

At the same time, try to be honest with yourself if things go wrong in an assignment due to a mistake you have made.

Don't get obsessed with positive feedback and flattering comments since most of these opinions do not matter. Rather focus on relationships and opinions of people with who we share mutual respect and friendship. This will enhance efficiency and guide our ego in the right direction.

Even if you‘re an extremely experienced professional in our chosen field, we may not be aware of certain developments. Do not let your ego come in the way of asking a junior colleague for help.

When asked some of the most successful businessmen in the world, they openly admit to hiring people who are better than them and that is the secret of their organization's success.

Hard work, single-minded focus and sincerity can make us a successful professional. Ego affirms one's ability to take charge and keeping a check on it is critical to developing strong organizations, which can achieve sustainable results.