The Costs of Ego

Everyone has an ego. The overwhelming majority of us don’t have overinflated egos, but we’re all capable of letting our 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 organisation.

Why businesses fail

May be there are hundreds of reasons for business failure, but undoubtedly egoism is one of them. After conducting more than two decades of research, with hundreds of organizations, on why business decisions go awry, Dr. Paul Nutt & a group of researcher of Ohio State University discovered three key reasons why 50 percent of decisions fail:

1. More than one-third of all failed business decisions are driven by ego.

2. Nearly two-thirds of executives never explore alternatives once they make up their minds.

3. Eighty-one percent of managers push their decisions through by persuasion or edict, not by the relevance of their ideas.

In context of Bangladesh, not only the organizations, the whole nation is affected with egocentric conflict. Recent volatile political catastrophe can be a true example of egotism.

Can we control our ego?

We have prepared simple steps to prevent ego-related tussles. The first thing to remember is that the success of any project we undertake 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 organisation. The successful completion of a project should be our only focus. Ultimately, it’s up to each of us to manage our 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 our conversations. Ego is a continuum, at one extreme, there is too much. When we have a big ego, we are overconfident and arrogant. I know an instance where a retired high official left his corporate job as he couldn’t agree to sit in the open office space with other colleagues!

On the other hand, when we have too little of it, we 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 us curious and interested in others. Unless we’re ready to listen and learn, curiosity and veracity won’t even have a chance to enter the game. Discussions and debates that facilitate progress require us to temporarily suspend what we think is best for us so we 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, you 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. We should clearly state our 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 organisation'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 organisations, which can achieve sustainable results.

The writer is the Head of HR & Admin at Grameen Telecom Trust.