Leadership Principle #9 - Ego and The Boardroom
An oversized ego -- the downfall of many leaders throughout history. You’ve probably come across many examples in your career of individuals who need to let everyone know they are the smartest person in the room. They are the leaders who talk more than they listen, who shut others down and never seem to need the opinion of others on the team. They already have the answers, or so they believe. These leaders may even take credit for the work others have done. All of these situations, driven by ego, severely damage the culture of an organization, and it will also impact your results. Eventually, pride and unchecked ego will lead to failure in your career, and when it happens, this can be devastating because people rarely see it coming.
I’m would bet that course of your career, you have frequently been the smartest person in the room, and this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, the unfortunate truth is that leaders get lied to a lot. False compliments from those around you can start to inflate your pride. Over time, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that you always are the only one with the answers. But if you are limited to just your opinion, you are going to run out of options. There is a fine line between believing in your experience and ability to drive results and your perspective on the importance in those results. If you feel you have all answers because you’ve been there and done that, and you stop asking for other’s opinions, this can be the beginning of the end.
How do you avoid this outcome, especially in an elevated position of leadership like CEO? The advice I give to my clients is ask themselves two important questions:
#1. Do you find yourself with more answers than questions? If so, this can be an early warning sign.
#2. Are you genuinely excited for other’s successes? Hopefully you are. This is a good sign you are able to put ego and competition aside for the good of the organization (and your career).
Great leaders listen, and they encourage opinions and healthy debate in the conference room. They mentor, guide, empower and promote the work of others, even coaching them to fill their own shoes someday. As Steve Jobs said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” You need other people’s ideas to succeed. You cannot afford to limit your options if you want to achieve great things for your company and your career.
It can be hard to remain humble in a role like this. I get it. CEO coaching can be a useful tool that helps clients identify and work through difficult situations like these. Reach out if you’d like to learn more about my coaching opportunities.