Navigating Ego: A Crucial Element for Team and Company Success

I'm?curious,?when was the last time you gave your employee a superstar level of attention and praise??I was fortunate enough to receive that from my boss recently in a one-sentence text saying, "Raf, glad to have someone like you on my team." It left me feeling pleased and motivated for a week. Thanks, boss!

However, after the initial feeling of comfort and satisfaction faded, I began to wonder if such kind gestures from management were enough for me or any other?member of my team to truly thrive and grow in the long run. While these?types of?gestures are important, they are only one small aspect of effective leadership and its associated duties and responsibilities.

Phil Jackson's Team-building Approach: A Proven Strategy for Success

I recently finished reading a captivating book on team building, team spirit, and leadership called "Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success," written by the legendary basketball player and coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson. Phil is the winningest coach in the history of professional sports, but more importantly, he never compromised his coaching philosophy, which was rooted in deep values and meaning.

Phil was able to create cohesive basketball teams?time and time again, defeating big egos, selfishness, and individual performances by promoting and elevating team cohesion and spirit. He was able to give each member of his team superstar-like attention endlessly.?Leadership,?like any other competitive sport, is a rough game only played in a different domain.?The similarities between sports?teams?and work teams in organizations are?greater?than their differences.?

Any sports team that has won a championship and experienced the joy of lifting the championship cup can attest?to the fact?that achieving triumph requires long and endless physical and mental preparation, numerous setbacks, losses, and disappointments.?Every?single player on those teams?can confirm that they faced countless failures, losses, endless training, verbal and physical preparation, confrontations with teammates, and disagreements with management?teams, and coaches.

Lessons from Competitive Sports on Achieving Tremendous Results

I believe that any successful organization, with all its complex structures, activities, projects, goals, customer demands, products, and services, should strive for a harmonious, collaborative, and efficient way of working, similar to how the Toronto Raptors played this year. Recently, they won game six of the NBA finals, defeating the Golden State Warriors and making history by winning their first championship.

Marketing, finance, operations management, human resources, and IT departments?in any company?can adopt this productive team?spirit, to?not just survive,?but?thrive in today's and tomorrow's tough, demanding, and challenging business environment.?Today's workforce faces countless challenges similar to those of competitive sports teams.?

Big egos can hold you, your team, and your entire company back from achieving tremendous results.

Phil Jackson, who coached top-notch superstars like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, managed to create unstoppable teams by tapping into something?deeper.?He aimed to?create?a team that worked together and won?together, even with players?who had?big egos.?Over his coaching career, his teams won 1,155 NBA games,?with?229 of them during the playoffs. He knew that by eliminating his superstar players' egos, he could create a team of professionals who would use their unique talents within the whole team to win together.

In business, every professional should understand this reality as well. Egos can hinder human potential, productivity, creativity, trust, and communication, leading to poor performance, unhappy customers, and a broken team spirit. Imagine how your team, department, plant, division, and?the entire?company could operate if?individual egos were eliminated.

Phil's Jackson Unique Leadership Style

Phil Jackson's parents, Charles and Elisabeth Jackson, were Assemblies of God ministers who preached and practiced a strict religious lifestyle.?This had a significant impact on?the former American professional basketball player and coach.

With his unique?style of leadership, Phil Jackson used Eastern philosophy to coach and empower his teams.?He?not only?managed to control his players' colossal egos?but also?created an atmosphere where players could kill each other's egos.

Are you managing to control your ego and those of your team members? If not, you should. If Phil Jackson could do it with a star as big as Michael Jordan, then we all can and should do the same within our teams and organizations.?

If you closely examine your workplace's daily activities, you may identify numerous obstacles?that are?hindering you and your team.

Our Current Trivial Leadership Style In Countless Companies

After working for more than two decades in Logistics, Warehousing, Distribution, and Operations for different companies, I have noticed a significant problem in the leadership style of many bosses. Too often, I have witnessed bosses with old-fashioned, cold, and ego-driven ways of managing themselves, their teams, departments, and divisions.

I am frustrated to see many mid-level and senior-level appointed professionals who are supposed to lead their teams to achieve high performance while maintaining a healthy, driven, engaged, and productive workplace. However, they fail to do so repeatedly without facing?any?accountability, corrective action, coaching, counseling, or even termination from their superiors.

My question is?how?long?your team, plant, division, and entire company?will?suffer this alarming workplace reality??How long are you willing to hear and accept unacceptable justifications and excuses such as "It was always like that," "This is not our problem," "We are running the day shift, and this is the night shift responsibility," or "we didn't have the manpower," or "we didn't have the time" from your direct reports?

You have placed these people in leadership positions to be accountable for running a smooth operation within your company, and they should be responsible for their poor results.?You,?as their leader, should take responsibility for the outcome, even if the result is unfortunate.

Instead of blaming the employee, you should identify the issue, understand the root cause, and solve it as soon as possible in a way that will make everyone involved aware of the importance of the matter, the importance of fixing the issue, the method agreed upon on how to solve it, and eventually the benefits of eliminating the problem for good.

You should take?the lead to solve these?types of?issues sooner rather than later.?Your direct reports?are watching?you in action and?judging you if you neglect to?act.

Here are a few tips to consider when creating a workplace that is free from ego.

Creating an ego-free workplace is crucial for leaders to run their teams brilliantly. Just like Phil, you can focus on the personal growth of each team member to foster an environment where your team can learn about themselves, develop their skills, and add their creativity to the group.

It?is okay to be a friend and not just a boss?in some cases.?Private eye-to-eye meetings are an excellent way to discuss issues, concerns, and future potential with your team. Such meetings will not undermine your authority but make you an inspirational leader who?can be trusted, listened to, and provide guidance and support.

As a leader, you should also respect your team's concerns, goals, and needs and give them the time and attention that a friend would, without forcing your self-interest on them.

Creating a harmonious work environment that maximizes your team's abilities by getting them to buy into your mission and develop themselves within that system is a vital role?that you?should take upon yourself as a leader. Please don't forget that.

I genuinely believe?that you?can lead your teams and your company to win in the business world using Phil's way, and you should!

Why You Should Promote An Ego-free Workplace

As a leader, you hold the power to create an environment that fosters open communication, trust, and collaboration among your team members. Regardless of your personality type, it's important to listen to your team and encourage them to share their thoughts, concerns, insights, and ideas. By appreciating their contributions, you show them that their work matters and that they are valued.

Maintaining open lines of communication and trust is crucial, as it ensures your team members feel comfortable bringing up any issues in the future. By building a culture of trust, you establish a foundation that allows your team to work together towards common objectives. Your actions as a leader have a significant impact on the workplace environment, so it's important to set a positive tone and lead by example.

Remember to create a culture of equality, respect, and trust, and encourage open communication to ensure your team feels motivated and valued.

If you found value in this article, I encourage you to share your thoughts by commenting, liking, and sharing it with other professionals. I'm eager to hear your ideas and insights on this crucial topic.

Let's work together to create a more meaningful and enjoyable workplace.

As a harmony creator and meaningful workplace enthusiast, I'm committed to promoting a positive, collaborative, resilient, and healthy atmosphere in companies.

I'm passionate about creating a workplace culture that is purposeful and enjoyable. Let's join forces and make this vision a reality.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Love & Coffee,

Rafael