Leadership Training: 6 Questions about Your Ego
Have you ever met a leader with a less than healthy ego? What did it do for your workplace? Many leaders get caught in the trap of living their lives with a wounded ego. Ego refers to your inner perception of the outside world. This means that you can experience the world based both on your most noble and healthy impulses or most toxic and disabling. If your perception is positive, you’ll tend to view your role in the world as interconnected with others and you’ll interact in a healthy manner.
We often base our decisions on the security we feel about ourselves and our sense of balance and well-being. If you function more on the negative side of the spectrum you’ll tend to view the world based on your fears and feelings of insecurity. You might rely on mistaken notions of power, controlling others, need for attention, desire to dominate or yearning for acceptance
The challenge for leaders arises in that ego can reflect their most dysfunctional characteristics and they can get stuck listening only to that inner voice. If you only listen to the voice that reminds you of your insecurities or hurts then your work life moves in a certain direction. Answer the following questions to get a feel for how your ego is working for you.
1. In what ways am I constantly working on being the best person I can be?
2. I what ways do I get my stuff on other people?
3. In what ways do I depend on others to make me happy?
4. In what ways do I help build up others?
5. What is my view of competition?
6. What is my view of winning and losing?
As you answer these questions you will likely see a pattern emerging that will show you how healthy your ego is. Remember that your ego is healthy when you are so confident and secure that you’ll experience a great work life and help others do the same. You don’t feel threatened by others and you enjoy their success as much as yours. A healthy ego will tend to stay in balance, reacting appropriately from calmness and kindness. For those of you who already live this way, you know the deep happiness that comes from liking yourself and appreciating others’ greatness as well. How will you focus your ego?
Take care,
