Ego is a powerful force in business. It drives us to work harder, to succeed, and to do our best. It is a key element in the makeup of a successful sales and business leader. Without it, losing the sale or missing the numbers would be much more tolerable. Good enough would in fact be good enough.
However no one is infallible and no one has the market for good ideas and decisions cornered. It is a good manager that will make a decision and move forward, but it is a good leader that will recognize when a better solution than their own has been provided, and adopt it.
Our egos will make it hard for us to accept that we are either wrong, or that someone else may have thought of a better way of doing things. Always be prepared to defend your decisions and directions. However it is equally possible that those that are questioning you are not correct, but do not dismiss them out of hand.
A review and discussion of different points of view will serve several functions. People want to feel that their input is valued and heard. Different points of view make the overall business stronger by removing blind spots associated with too many similar points of view. If they are not correct, they have had their say and will be stronger supporters of the current directions.
If they are right, you have to check your ego at the door and acknowledge it, and then make the changes that are for the betterment of the business.
Steve,
Very sage advice!! Great BLOG. Keep up the great work!!
Sincerely,
Peter
Ego is such a problem in America where survival of the toughest routinely wins out over those who produce best results! No one has the time to build the foundation and focus on producing good results where they’re at.
Never has it been more obvious than in our political process right now. I wrote about a perfect example in a blog called “Pretenders to the Throne” (http://enkelzeggend.com/story/pretenders-throne).
Thank you for writing this and hopefully more people will see the light!