The Challenge of Ego
The topic of humility has emerged in several of my currentexecutive coaching engagements, particularly the question of whether one mustmaintain tight control over one’s ego in order to succeed in leadership. Two divergent strands of thinking about therole ego plays in leadership would take the neophyte leader in quite differentdirections. On the one hand, somethinkers, exemplified by Jim Collins who authored Goodto Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don’t, holdthat really effective leadership has an inherent humility that sublimates egoto the larger aims of the organization. Seen through this lens, ego is a negative, aliability that rising leaders must learn to manage lest it become part of theireventual derailment.
On the other hand, there are those such as Michael Maccobywho praise the narcissistic leader (see TheProductive Narcissist: The Promise and Peril of Visionary Leadership. While Maccoby does acknowledge inevitabledownsides to working for or with those of enhanced ego, his admiration keepstrumping his criticism. To this way ofthinking, it is ego plus charisma that makes for an inspirational leader, onewho others will love even if they don’t like everything about him or her.
A reconciliation of the above would be to say that humilityis, in most instances, more important at levels below the chief executiveofficer. And, even for CEO’s, humilityis increasingly important to the extent that organizational mission, ratherthan the chief’s personal charisma, is what really deserves allegiance. The CEO, on the other hand, especially whenthe mission is less spiritually or emotionally engaging, may well need plentyof ego and charisma to hold the whole thing together and keep it moving along aforward trajectory.
My coaching conversations about humility focus on its rolein interviewing for new positions. Interviewingis a special case in point, and one that can be quite illustrative of the wayego differentially affects those in charge. Remember who one interviews with when seeking different types of jobs. CEO candidates interview with members of theboard—people likely to either be their peers or to be evaluating them as apotential peer. This is quite differentfrom interviewing for positions below the CEO. In those cases, one interviews with the personwho will be a potential boss, and a far different calculus drivesdecision-making. Below the CEO,interviewers aren’t selecting new peers; rather, they are trying to decide whatkind of subordinate you will be. And ego—or lack of humility—generally warns ofpossible future struggles when they attempt to manage you.