We all have come across people who will never acknowledge their mistakes or who think people around them are unworthy and disregard their views and disrespect them constantly. These people live in an illusion that they are God’s Gift to Humanity. Their big ‘E drives these individuals; the big ‘E’ we are talking about is the Ego we carry. Everyone has an ego, but it is up to an individual to use the same properly.

The Ego a leader possesses comes out in their arrogance; they refuse to listen to their team, dissing their views about the business or the project they are working on. They don’t respect their team members and look down upon them. The leader does not appreciate their hard work and effort they put in. This behaviour goes on creating a hostile environment within the team, conducive to an unproductive environment

An Egoistic leader will have a Win/Lose approach, i.e., “If I win, you lose.” An egoistic leader micromanages his/her team. This behaviour of a leader will cause an emotional strain in the team leading to low self-esteem. A person with low self-esteem usually fails to give the desired results. A Leader is mandated to elevate the team rather disempower them — egoistic leaders curb the growth of their team and the company as a whole. A person who doesn’t respect other people cannot be a role model for the team.

People like to work with a person who is humble and very passionate about his/her work and with someone who enjoys being a leader. A humble leader is the one who takes responsibility for the actions taken, and they are very much familiar with the impact their words and actions will have on people around them, and hence they act wisely in order not to affect people negatively.

Ego in a leader is like a slow poison which consumes a person so severely that by the time they realise what they have done or doing it is too late. The damage done is irreparable. It is a daunting task to be a leader as he/she has to deal with people with different personalities and lead them effectively.

A leader has to work along with the team to be successful, and one thing that will help them is to ensure they always Check their Ego at the Door. If they don’t, then it is a recipe for disaster.

It is essential for a leader to have a healthy ego and to not only actively seek and obtain feedback but also not to take such feedback personally as it will help in building trust and maintaining a healthy perspective. Rather than being unappreciative of others’ views, one must try to understand and validate their standpoint which might be very useful if not at the present time. Try to understand their paradigms and perspectives before rushing in with your ego and being judgemental. A leader with a healthy ego will help in manoeuvring through difficult times, and they are not afraid of accepting their shortcomings and working towards making it better by being committed to learning.

In the end, a team and an organization will only flourish if the person leading is confident with the right blend of humility i.e. their security comes from within and their values and not without and based on personality.