Mentoring Ego

Isn’t ego a funny old thing? I am of the belief that ego has its place, although sadly that place is not often known, understood or identified.

 What exactly is 'ego'? Wikipedia and YouTube give us these explanations:

• sense of self
• belief in one’s self-importance
• identification of oneself
• self-preservation

 The most substantial and common barrier to effective mentoring is ego - on both sides of a mentoring pair.

Mentors are mentoring due to the level of experience they have accumulated, and that, in the majority of cases, is accompanied by certain levels of success. However, the ability to park ego at the mentoring door is a skill I do not come across often enough. On the flip side, mentoring a mentee with ego is a challenge I embrace every time I meet it. Why? Because I immediately know I can make a difference! Ego can hinder as well exacerbate business and personal growth. It is my responsibility to check the hindrance and encourage the advantages.

Key findings should be:

What is feeding the ego?

Is it acting as a barrier to fruitful relationships with team, customers, suppliers ?

How can it be channelled to benefit or kept in check?

Key questions are:

Have you ever asked for constructive feedback from anyone?

How do you get your message across? And how do you react if someone does not ‘get it’?

What do you think is the effect of your behaviour on those surrounding you?

What reaction would you prefer?

What changes could be made to achieve the best results from all these people surrounding you?

How can you use your ego to its best advantage?

The desired result is:

Awareness

I love having an ego. I know it’s not over-inflated as I can take detrimental feedback on the chin, be thankful and act on it, as opposed to becoming upset. It has taken a few years to get here and I appreciate the lessons learned. If one has the insight this a very decent gauge. Are you aware of the effect of your behaviour on others?