Big EGOS in Business – a Liability on the Balance Sheet for SUCCESS?

By Larry Ventimiglio

 

While narcissists are generally considered a liability in business, sometimes their inherent selfishness and lack of empathy helps them rise to the top.  Is this good or bad?  The answer is YES.  It can go either way.  The narcissistic personality is traditionally marked by a grandiose sense of self-worth and lack of empathy for others.  Their arrogance, tendency to envy others and reluctance to accept blame for failures or share credit for successes excludes them from the “team player” profile.  Some may argue that narcissists are natural leaders who possess freedom from internal constraints.

Additionally, successful narcissists may possess strategic intelligence, and may work well in situations where big changes are necessary for growth.  On the downside, however, a narcissist’s strength is also his weakness – they don’t listen to others, and that flaw can do them in.

Ego and Leadership Effectiveness 

The ego can be one of the biggest barriers to people working together effectively.  It doesn’t matter how smart you are.  Having too much ego isn’t good for you or anyone around you.  The combination of false pride and self-doubt created by an overactive ego gives people a distorted image of their own importance.  When people begin to see themselves as the center of the universe, they begin to place their own agenda, safety, status, and gratification ahead of those affected by their thoughts and actions – their peers, subordinates, and customers.  This is a very damaging combination in today’s business environment, where organizations need people to work together collaboratively to meet the ever challenging expectations of customers and shareholders.

Two out of five CEOs fail within their first 18 months, according to a recent study published in the Harvard Business Review.  One-third of Fortune 500 CEOs don’t survive in their positions past three years.  The most successful leaders understand that emotional intelligence is required in a business environment.

Symptoms of an Overactive Ego

Highlighted below are several of the most common symptoms of an overactive ego I ran across in reading a recent article on the subject.  Any of these can destroy a leader’s career:

• Ignoring feedback you don’t like – Every leader needs to hear the truth, even though they may not like the message.
• Believing your technical skills are enough – Successful leaders understand the role and importance of “softer” skills and more emotionally intelligent attributes, such as flexibility, self-control, and social skills. Leadership goes way beyond technical skills.
• Only surrounding yourself with people like you – Different perspectives, debate, and challenge are important in business. We all need a “sanity check” from time to time.  Collaboration drives ideas toward better business decisions.
• Not letting go of control – Leaders need to focus on the more global perspective of a project, issue, or challenge. Leave the nitty-gritty details to lower level staff members to handle.
• Don’t ignore your downstream impact and how much you are being watched – A leader’s actions and behaviors affect the entire organization. This can be positive, or not so much.  The cultural signals that a leader emits have a profound impact on morale, as well as performance.  Like it or not, employees are ALWAYS paying attention to what you say, and HOW you say it.  Cultural signals are continuously being transmitted, whether it’s the time you arrive at work, the way you sign your emails, your voice inflections during conversations, or the accolades you give or neglect to give to team members.  The leader is highly visible to the entire organization.
• Losing touch with the workers’ experience – It is very easy for senior executives to become disconnected from the troops. Leaders need to be aware of this tendency, and need to check in with subordinates periodically.
• Relapsing back to your old ways – We are all guilty of occasionally operating on autopilot. Overactive egos can easily drive us there.  Leaders need to hold themselves to a “leadership” standard of behavioral performance.  A commitment to modify your behavior requires perseverance and consistency.

When you are at the top of an organization, it may be easy to convince yourself that skills and hard work are all that is needed to keep you at the top.  Falling into any of these ego “traps” can result in employee disengagement, lower morale, increased turnover, decreased motivation, and ultimately declining operating performance for the organization.

So How Can You Modify Negative Behavior Driven By An Overactive Ego? 

When I was in middle school, I remember studying the scientific method of problem solving.  I remember that the first step in the process is to clearly identify and define the problem.  So, in the case of trying to positively modify negative behavior, we need to acknowledge the reality of having a problem – in this case, an overactive ego which fosters negative behaviors.  If we can successfully take the first step (i.e., acknowledge having an overactive ego), we have a chance to navigate toward more positive behavior patterns.

Practice Humility 

In business, humility means recognizing that work is not all about you; it’s about the people who comprise the team and what they need to perform successfully.  True leadership requires an appropriate level of humility which inspires and brings out the best in others.  In the book, Good to Great, Jim Collins identifies two characteristics that describe great leaders: will and humility.  Will is the determination to follow through on an organizational vision, mission, or goal that is bigger than you are.  Humility is the capacity to recognize that leadership is about serving others rather than being served.

Will and humility are powerful characteristics which deeply inspire people.

Find Truth Tellers 

Leaders need to be able to identify and rely on a group of people they can depend on to be truth tellers.  These are people who they know well; don’t have anything to gain from being honest, and who can be counted on to provide an honest opinion.  Over my career, I have sought out truth tellers whom I relied on for honest feedback.  In business, honesty and integrity are priceless, and it is very important to listen to trusted opinions – particularly when they are different than yours.  Learn to listen.

Be a Learner 

Listening leads right into my final suggestion for rebalancing your ego.  Become a continual learner.  Whether you are a leader or a contributor, you need to be open to learning from other people and listening to them.  Each of us is blessed with both gifts and flaws.  No matter how smart you think you are, it is important to seek out and consider the ideas, skills, and opinions of others who you respect.  None of us, alone, is as smart as all of us, combined.  Do you need practice on this one?

The Bottom Line

Collaboration is a very powerful tool.  While I believe leaders need superstar talent, a healthy competitive drive, and sharply honed skills, these characteristics, alone, cannot sustain long-term career success.  A leader needs to solicit and secure the cooperation, skills, and talents of others by inspiring and serving others.  An overactive ego alone is a liability in business and in life.

Although I’m a numbers guy, the numbers reported on a profit and loss statement, are the result (not the root cause) of daily business activities over a period of time.  Both positive AND negative things happen to the business over time.  Every business event will, likely, have a financial consequence.  To understand the numbers, the financial guy needs to understand the activities/events, or root causes, that have resulted in the numbers reported.  Business is people interacting with each other, their customers, their competitors, their environment, regulatory agencies, and so on.  As a numbers guy, I’ve tried to learn by observing and listening to people.  I’ve learned that the path toward improving business performance must be navigated by and in collaboration with its people.  My role, as a management consultant, is to act as the positive igniter in the drive toward success.

What about YOU?

Do you have an ego that tips the Richter scale?

What does SUCCESS mean to YOU?

 

For more information about how I can help your organization achieve greater performance success, give me a call, or check out my website:  www.LJVBusinessSolutions.com.

 

 

 

Larry Ventimiglio

LJV Business Solutions, LLC

843-245-9753