We all struggle with ego — every single one of us. Ego-driven leaders are one of the most toxic elements that can be introduced to a team or organization. How can you tell if a leader is ego-driven? How can you tell if your leadership is at times or in some ways ego-driven?
[bctt tweet=”No one is immune from struggling with ego. #leadership “]
1. Ego-driven leaders…
Often measure their success by how much others notice their success. It becomes more about being the center of attention than it does about actually being successful in and of itself.
[bctt tweet=”Ego-driven leaders often measure their success by how much others notice their success. #leadership”]
2. Ego-driven leaders…
Often feel better about themselves when others around them don’t achieve or earn as much as they do.
3. Ego-driven leaders…
Tend to undermine others so that they can appear to themselves and others to be smarter, better, etc.
4. Ego-driven leaders…
Tend to drive others away over time. It’s incredibly taxing working for an ego-driven leader, because…
[bctt tweet=”Ego-driven leaders tend to drive others away over time. #leadership #companyculture “]
5. Ego-driven leaders…
Tend to destroy trust and attempt to control others through whatever means necessary. This is exhausting for those who work with these leaders.
[bctt tweet=”Ego-driven leaders destroy trust & exhaust those who work for them. #leadership”]
6. Ego-driven leaders…
Are always looking for more praise, always looking for the next spotlight.
[bctt tweet=”Ego-driven leaders are addicted to the spotlight. They can’t get enough. #leadership”]
7. For ego-drive leaders…
Status supplants service as the true, underlying motivator.
[bctt tweet=”Ego-driven leaders are motivated by status, not service. #leadership “]
8. Ego-driven leaders…
Tend to be easily offended, even if their own behavior toward others is far more egregious. They’re quick to call others defensive, and quick to point out what they perceive to be faulty attitudes in others.
[bctt tweet=”Ego-driven leaders are easily offended, and regularly defensive. #leadership”]
9. Ego-driven leaders…
Tend to have a burning desire to be right. Every. Single. Time. Or so it seems to those around them.
10. Ego-driven leaders…
Very rarely admit their faults without somehow rationalizing or blaming others.
11. Eventually, most ego-driven leaders are knocked down a few notches or ousted, because people can’t work with them effectively. If they come back with a healthy dose of humility, the can succeed in ways they hadn’t previously imagined.
Ego-driven leaders are all too often hiding their real actions by a veil of hostility and secrecy while carrying on a hidden (and sometime illegal) activity.
Ego-driven leaders create crises. They seek praise for putting things right.
Ego-driven leaders may succeed in the short-run but always fail in the long-term.