Ego Traps in Leadership: Realise & Overcome Them

Ego, the Latin word for “I,” involves a sense of self-importance that can slow down personal growth and negatively impact interactions with other people. This term is used to define our own sense of self-worth. Often, it is applied in a negative context, with the phrase “inflated egos” associated with arrogant or unapproachable leaders. On the other hand, leaders without healthy egos may struggle to inspire confidence and trust in their teams. So, when it comes to ego management, there’s a delicate balance to strike. Egos can be both a blessing and a curse.

Difference between Ego and Pride

We need to know a subtle difference between ego and pride though it is often used interchangeably by many. However, these two words are interlinked since they refer to a state of mind of an individual. Ego can be defined in simple terms as the way how a person perceives him/herself. That is how the particular individual thinks, feels and distinguishes him/herself from the rest. Pride, on the other hand, is a feeling one may get after an accomplishment or a success of oneself and someone else. This is the key difference between the two.

Let’s assess who these ego centric people are around us?

1. Control Freaks

One of the most prevalent ego traps in leadership is the desire to control and dominate every aspect of the their businesses. Leaders who fall into this trap struggle to delegate tasks, micromanage their subordinates, and avoid feedback. To overcome this trap, leaders must learn to trust their team members, empower them effectively, and embrace collaboration and diverse perspectives.

2. Individual Decisionmakers

Leaders with inflated egos are bound to fail eventually in one way or the other as they love to listen to themselves only. As a result, they avoid taking risks and seek feedback from their team. Instead, they make unilateral decisions to protect their ego and sometimes they avoid making any decisions. However, failure is an inevitable part of leadership and offers valuable learning opportunities. Leaders should cultivate resilience, adopt a growth mindset, and encourage experimentation and innovation within their teams.

3. Recognition Seekers

Some leaders promote self-recognition and status over anything else in their respective organisations. A classic example is they would be over-cautious to know in advance where exactly they are seated at an event — be it a corporate dinner or an award night. They go through this Me-Centric syndrome all the time. They stay engaged in self-promotion, taking credit for their employees’ accomplishments, and prioritise their own agenda over collective business goals. True leadership involves humility and a commitment to serving others rather than seeking personal glory.

4. Inflexible & Closed-minded

Ego-centric leaders strongly advocate that its their way or the highway and are resistant to change over new ideas. They remain strong advocates of the status-quo. They consider their past successes as the only way to look to the future, without realising that times have changed. This closed-mindedness stifles innovation, creativity, and adaptability within the organization. Leaders should remain open to feedback, embrace diversity of thought, and cultivate a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

5. Overconfident & Arrogant

While confidence is an essential trait for effective leadership, excessive self-assurance can lead to arrogance and hubris. Overconfident leaders may underestimate risks, dismiss feedback, and make reckless decisions that harm their teams or organizations. Cultivating humility, seeking diverse perspectives, and acknowledging limitations are essential for tempering overconfidence.

How to escape these Traps?

Here are five tips to help leaders identify and overcome “ego traps.”

1. Go through Personality Assessments

Every leader must know his/her personality type. For that, they must acquire the learning agility that follows their own path to maturity and neutralising their ego. This is because individual behavior is a result of our life experiences and beliefs. So, it’s important to understand how our most powerful personality traits drive our behavior. This will help us avoid affinity bias. Multiple types of assessments aim to measure personality traits, like the Myers-Briggs personality test and Rorschach Inkblot Test.

2. Identify a Role Model

Let’s learn to associate with the best people around. Identify role models within and outside the organisations who can guide us to operate on a positive note. Mature leaders are good mentors and active listeners who create authentic cultures where employees thrive. Let’s consider a leader like this to be our role model. This will help us examine our ego-driven behaviour and guide you toward psychological maturity.

3. Sharpen People Skills

Leadership is all about people. Talking to them, mentoring them, coaching them, resolving their issues and becoming more mature while using their positions to help others achieve their goals. Learning must continue at every stage of our careers to refine management styles to help teams succeed by providing constructive feedback.

4. Learn to Let Go

Success is not only about individual achievement and power, but it is also about being thoughtful and reflective on account of others in our teams. By relinquishing control, we promote a sense of trust in our team members and overcome our sense of being in power. We must understand the real meaning of “letting go” and “stepping back’ in organisational context. We need to understand why we get attached to people or things in the first place.

5. Stay Empathetic

In Tim Cook’s 2017 MIT commencement address, he warned graduates, “People will try to convince you that you should keep empathy out of your career. Don’t accept this false premise”. The Apple CEO is not alone in recognizing and emphasizing the importance of empathy — the ability to share and understand others’ emotions — at work. At the time of his remarks, 20% of United States employers offered empathy training for managers. In a recent survey of 150 CEOs, over 80% recognized empathy as key to success. In short, Empathy is the ability to see things from another’s perspective and feel their emotions. Putting yourself in another person’s shoes might lead you to act with compassion and do what you can to improve their situation. In doing so, you can reduce the other person’s distress as well as your own.

In a Nutshell

To conclude, let’s understand that ego can be both a driving force and a stumbling block in leadership. By recognising and overcoming common ego traps, leaders can foster a culture of collaboration, growth, and success within their teams and organisations. Cultivating humility, empathy, and a commitment to lifelong learning are essential for effective leadership that prioritizes the collective good over personal ego. While confidence and self-assurance are often necessary traits for effective leadership. Unchecked ego can lead to a host of problems that hinder personal growth and team success.

About the Author

Muhammad Sajwani is a C-Level HR, Transformation Leader, Board Advisor, Business Coach & Organisational Consultant working in the capacity of Managing Director, Evolve HR. He is an author, columnist and a contributor who besides writing for other platforms also regularly writes at BizCatalyst 360. He brings along 30+ years of local & international experience. He is a change catalyst specializing in unleashing the human Dreamgenius through Leadership, Creativity and Change Management. Muhammad has been instrumental in helping organizations come to terms with organizational changes like right-sizing and business process re-engineering. His innovative approach & high personal competence encourages people to not only accept change, but also to excel in it. Muhammad has diverse experience in conducting strategic & management development programs, conferences & events for organizations across sectors.