The Egos Are Landing

Big egos have been around for many years in sport, in politics, and in business.?Indeed, some might say that having self-confidence, whether misplaced or not, was a pre-requisite for success in whatever field one chose to follow.?Better to believe in one’s ability than to doubt it.

But are we seeing more? Are egos getting bigger??Are these individuals with inflated views of self-importance becoming more numerous and more visible than previously?

Much has been written about how possessing a superiority complex, and being utterly self-absorbed can lead to success on the sports field.?We immediately think of competitors like Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Usain Bolt, and Jack Nicklaus as shining examples of how this can deliver greatness without many of the negatives. But similar traits can also produce characters like Lance Armstrong and Christiano Ronaldo.?Of course all these individuals will have their fans as well as their detractors.

In politics too, self-confidence is not only a common trait but also a valuable one, challenged as politicians are on a frequent basis on everything they say.?But while a statesman like Winston Churchill could be described as having a very large ego, he surely cannot be compared with Johnson or Trump whose narcissistic tendencies produce characters with very little emotional intelligence, honesty or grasp of reality.?Unwilling to backdown, u-turn, or reflect, an unchallenged ego will frequently lead us down a dangerous path - we have experienced many examples of this recently in both the Westminster and Scottish governments.

And in business, self-promotion from entrepreneurs has been going on for decades.?Richard Branson and Jacqueline Gold showed what can be achieved by a healthy dose of selfish bravado, and succeeded far more than they failed.?Steve Jobs, never backwards in talking about himself, demonstrated an egotistical approach to business with great success.?But there are also examples of those huge egos where misplaced self-belief, the unwillingness or inability to listen to advisors, and a lack of professional humility has led to failure after failure. And even in success, the decisions of some egotists, like Musk, are difficult to comprehend. I am certain readers know of such people closer to home in their own chosen fields.

Some egotists tend to bully or put others down, while some are too self-centred to care for those around them.?The common factor in these characters is that they are notoriously difficult to work with as they tend not to be team players - after all, what could other members of a team offer when they can do everything better themselves??How can the whole be stronger than the sum of the parts when one part is better than everyone else added together??Nothing should be decided merely by who shouts loudest but egotists will often take this approach.

As the global environment and economy become more challenging, we will need business and political leaders who are less egotistical, ones who are willing to listen, who possess emotional intelligence, and who are financially astute enough to cope with basic economics.?So we must bring up young adults who possess confidence and self belief, but we surely must also teach humility, listening skills, and teamwork.?We have to educate children in diversity of thought - that a group-generated answer is probably more powerful than an edict from the biggest ego.?And we have to challenge the egotist with facts, not opinions - in that way they might, just might, be willing to listen.?Hope springs eternal!

#leadership #egotists