How Your Ego is Quietly Derailing Your Business Goals

How Your Ego is Quietly Derailing Your Business Goals

  • Discover how your ego might be sabotaging your productivity and learn to transform it into a powerful tool for success.
  • Uncover the five pillars of productivity that align with your ego and how they can help you streamline your efforts without burning out.
  • Find out why striving to do everything yourself could be holding you back and how to break free from unproductive habits.

Read on for the whole story.

As a solo business owner or aspiring leader, you know that productivity is the lifeblood of your success. You strive to balance multiple roles, from strategist to caretaker, while often feeling the weight of expectations—both from yourself and from others. But have you ever considered how your ego might be influencing your productivity? Understanding the connection between ego and productivity can unlock significant gains in your business.

At its core, your ego drives how you perceive your capabilities and accomplishments. You want to be seen as capable, caring, giving, connected, and having integrity. This desire, while noble, can lead to overwhelming pressure to do everything yourself, resulting in unhealthy habits that stifle your productivity.

To navigate this complex landscape, it's crucial to familiarize yourself with the 5 Pillars of Potent Productivity, each tied closely to your ego.


1. Your Goals - Capability: You often measure your worth through your achievements. Setting ambitious goals can boost your confidence, but it can also lead to feelings of inadequacy. If you're constantly comparing yourself to others or striving for perfection, you may overload yourself with tasks, ultimately hampering your effectiveness. Instead, focus on setting realistic goals that align with your capabilities.

2. Customer Care - Caring: You genuinely want to help others, and this yearning can drive you to spend excessive time on customer relations. However, trying to be everything to everyone can overwhelm you. Prioritize customer care, but also recognize when it's time to delegate or automate certain tasks. This will free up your time while still ensuring your clients feel valued.

3. Add Value - Giving: Your instincts tell you that providing value will bolster your reputation. You may find yourself engrossed in endless projects, striving to give more. Remember, giving doesn’t always mean doing more. It can mean focusing on quality over quantity. Identify your unique strengths and leverage them to create genuine value for your customers.

4. Spread the Word - Connected: Building connections is vital for any business, but the pressure to network can lead you to overcommit. You might feel the need to appear accessible and engaged in every conversation - especially on social media, yet spreading yourself thin will cause your productivity to plummet. Strategically choose where to focus your network-building efforts, connecting and engaging with key individuals who truly align with your business goals.

5. Delivering On Your Promises - Having Integrity: You take pride in your reputation and strive to keep your promises. However, this can lead to taking on more than you can handle just to maintain that integrity. Instead of weighing yourself down with commitments, learn to evaluate your workload realistically, allowing room for flexibility without compromising your core values.


Recognizing how these pillars are inextricably linked to ego can offer incredible insight into your approach to productivity. You may find yourself biased toward working on the pillar that best describes your individual insecurities. For instance, if you have a deep desire to be perceived as super capable, you might overcommit to projects that require all your time to be focused on “creating”, at the expense of building an audience that would be willing to pay for your product.

By understanding how your ego influences your decisions, you can start to break free from unproductive habits. Embrace a balanced approach that acknowledges your drive for excellence without allowing it to lead you astray. Productivity doesn't mean doing everything yourself; it is about working smartly while still nurturing your aspirations and maintaining your values. In doing so, you’ll not only boost your productivity but also foster a healthier relationship with your business and yourself.

Want to see where you stand? Head to https://potentproductivity.com/assessment and claim your FREE Potent Productivity Assessment. This snapshot will give you valuable insights to elevate your game and help you navigate your unique challenges. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to transform your productivity!

Monte Armstrong

Guiding tech-overwhelmed solopreneurs to hack copywriting and effortlessly create engaging content, even if the thought of learning new software scares the tech out of you. | Solopreneur | Affiliate Marketer | Analyst |

3 周

Great stuff! I've felt #1 and #5 the most during my journey. Particularly #5 during my brick and mortar business. I took on more than I should have and burnt myself out in just a few years. I even closed that business down and moved on to other things because of it.

Mark Weisenburger

Mental Wellness Money Sage - I help stressed professionals struggling with debt manage their finances and improve mental wellness so they can achieve peace of mind and financial security | Mentor | Debt Survivor | Author

3 周

Great article Sarah J Pitts. Definitely some points to ponder while looking ourselves in the mirror.

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