by Dr. Cecil Clements (14th August 2012)
I am a cricket fan. As I watch cricket and especially the award presentation ceremonies, I have been intrigued by the way players respond to adulation. Recently I noticed how the Master of Ceremonies introduced the sponsors and then called different players who were receiving awards and they had to come and shake hands with the sponsors, take the cheque and then go back. What caught my attention was how some of the players would walk up and not even give the sponsor the time of day. They would take the huge placard-like cheque, hold it up to the camera and as soon as it was done, walk away without another look at the sponsor. I thought how bad that was; because the money that was being generated and that they received, was coming because of sponsors. Yet they wouldn’t say a proper thank you to the sponsors or the people representing the sponsoring company.
This made me think about how easily egos get bloated and how they begin to get in the way of good humane ways of behaving. So I thought I’d talk to you about ego this morning, about how it applies to us, to people who have egos that are around us, how we need to deal with it and how it could be detrimental to our workplaces.
The dictionary gives us a couple of meanings.
I am a cricket fan. As I watch cricket and especially the award presentation ceremonies, I have been intrigued by the way players respond to adulation. Recently I noticed how the Master of Ceremonies introduced the sponsors and then called different players who were receiving awards and they had to come and shake hands with the sponsors, take the cheque and then go back. What caught my attention was how some of the players would walk up and not even give the sponsor the time of day. They would take the huge placard-like cheque, hold it up to the camera and as soon as it was done, walk away without another look at the sponsor. I thought how bad that was; because the money that was being generated and that they received, was coming because of sponsors. Yet they wouldn’t say a proper thank you to the sponsors or the people representing the sponsoring company.
This made me think about how easily egos get bloated and how they begin to get in the way of good humane ways of behaving. So I thought I’d talk to you about ego this morning, about how it applies to us, to people who have egos that are around us, how we need to deal with it and how it could be detrimental to our workplaces.
The dictionary gives us a couple of meanings.
- An exaggerated sense of self-importance
- An inflated feeling of pride in one’s superiority to others
This definition is very seldom used in a positive context. If you’ve been around long enough, we know that you can come across people with huge egos. Very often it’s difficult to work with such people. They get in the way of things; they can hurt the whole project or the experience of working together.
David Marcum and Steven Smith wrote a book ‘Egonomics’. They refer to the cost of ego and say that there are several detrimental workplace phenomena that you can see. These are recognizable traits of people with ego that you can see in the workplace or in the offices. They list a few.
David Marcum and Steven Smith wrote a book ‘Egonomics’. They refer to the cost of ego and say that there are several detrimental workplace phenomena that you can see. These are recognizable traits of people with ego that you can see in the workplace or in the offices. They list a few.
- Hearing, but not listening.
- Thinking more of themselves than the company.
- Having the idea that only the ‘right’ people have good ideas.
- The pressure to fit in or the failure to challenge the status quo.
- Candid discussions saved for outside the meetings.
- Failures being buried and never mentioned again.
- Meetings going on longer than necessary.
- Fear of making mistakes or admitting them.
All these are recognizable traits of people who have huge egos; they’re red flags in an organization and allow you to know that you are dealing with someone with a huge ego and therefore could be a problem in the company.
When you look at this whole issue of ego, basically you need to bring it down to us. We look at it and we ask two questions.
When you look at this whole issue of ego, basically you need to bring it down to us. We look at it and we ask two questions.
- Are there people around us with those issues or problems?
- Am I one of those people who have a huge ego? If I am, then the greater question is: am I detrimental to the work that I am doing for my company?
Matthew Hayward, consultant and assistant professor at University of Colorado, Boulder, and author of the Book ‘Ego Check’ says, “Companies can be populated with talented, high-IQ people with no shortage of vision, education, experience or good intentions. Yet they may still have an undercurrent of out-of-control egos that will be responsible for huge losses in productivity and profits.” That’s where it becomes pertinent for us; that we are in a sense responsible for productivity and profits. If we are the cause of problems, or we know others who are having this issue as a problem, then we need to be able to know how to handle them. But people who have ego problems are also very difficult to handle.
I remember reading Lee Iacocca’s autobiography. An amazing read, because if you’ve read anything on him, you will know that he was responsible for turning Chrysler Corporation around. He took it on when it was in debt for over a billion dollars and in all kinds of trouble. He went to Washington, convinced the government to give Chrysler a loan and was able to slowly turn it around until it was a huge profit-making company. But sadly, Iacocca’s ego was even bigger than he was. Jim Collins would later write, “Iacocca had a huge ego and it was that ego that got him dismissed from Ford Motors.” In fact, in his book ‘Good To Great’, Jim Collins says that when he was interviewed on Larry King Live, Iacocca said, “Running Chrysler has been a bigger job than running the country. I could handle the national economy in 6 months.” He postponed his retirement so many times that insiders at Chrysler began to joke that Iacocca was actually an acronym that stood for ‘I Am Chairman Of Chrysler Corporation Always.’
What a sad ending to such a high profile person and a wonderful career, one who was a great leader and who turned around the company. Sometimes a huge ego can be detrimental to a company.
As we look at our workplaces, we need to look and see what can be done. Nathaniel Fast, writing in Harvard Business Review says, “Bridled egos can create a bully-free workplace.” In essence, people with huge egos are really bullies in the workplace. Having a bully around is no fun. It affects the company in terms of low creativity, decreased morale and a high attrition rate.
So how do you handle bullying or huge egos in the workplace?
Serena Cheyenne, a psychologist at University of California, Berkeley, provides some insight from recent studies and she says, “Power is partly to blame.” However in contrast to the old adage that ‘Power corrupts’, she says that giving people power did not turn them into bullies. This was the key point. Rather it was the simultaneous sharing of power with feelings of inadequacy that led people to lash out. That’s the key thought. Because of feelings of inadequacy that a person had, and then being given power, it created this ability to become aggressive and to create a big ego and the bully mentality.
So how do we handle bullies in the workplace?
Nathaniel once again says,
I remember reading Lee Iacocca’s autobiography. An amazing read, because if you’ve read anything on him, you will know that he was responsible for turning Chrysler Corporation around. He took it on when it was in debt for over a billion dollars and in all kinds of trouble. He went to Washington, convinced the government to give Chrysler a loan and was able to slowly turn it around until it was a huge profit-making company. But sadly, Iacocca’s ego was even bigger than he was. Jim Collins would later write, “Iacocca had a huge ego and it was that ego that got him dismissed from Ford Motors.” In fact, in his book ‘Good To Great’, Jim Collins says that when he was interviewed on Larry King Live, Iacocca said, “Running Chrysler has been a bigger job than running the country. I could handle the national economy in 6 months.” He postponed his retirement so many times that insiders at Chrysler began to joke that Iacocca was actually an acronym that stood for ‘I Am Chairman Of Chrysler Corporation Always.’
What a sad ending to such a high profile person and a wonderful career, one who was a great leader and who turned around the company. Sometimes a huge ego can be detrimental to a company.
As we look at our workplaces, we need to look and see what can be done. Nathaniel Fast, writing in Harvard Business Review says, “Bridled egos can create a bully-free workplace.” In essence, people with huge egos are really bullies in the workplace. Having a bully around is no fun. It affects the company in terms of low creativity, decreased morale and a high attrition rate.
So how do you handle bullying or huge egos in the workplace?
Serena Cheyenne, a psychologist at University of California, Berkeley, provides some insight from recent studies and she says, “Power is partly to blame.” However in contrast to the old adage that ‘Power corrupts’, she says that giving people power did not turn them into bullies. This was the key point. Rather it was the simultaneous sharing of power with feelings of inadequacy that led people to lash out. That’s the key thought. Because of feelings of inadequacy that a person had, and then being given power, it created this ability to become aggressive and to create a big ego and the bully mentality.
So how do we handle bullies in the workplace?
Nathaniel once again says,
- Watch out when hiring managers. Set the bar high with regard to interpersonal skills and leadership experience.
- Resist the common tendency to hire and promote solely based on technical expertise.
- Put your company in the hands of managers who are psychologically secure and have a strong sense of inner confidence – not to be confused with outward arrogance. The two are mutually exclusive.
- Remind managers of core values.
- Help new managers feel comfortable in their high-powered roles by providing training, having mentors or coaches.
- Design jobs in such a way that avoid heaping unrealistic expectations on individuals.
- Use team effort rather than individual persons.
- Distribute the weight of responsibility easily.
A thought for all of us as we look at our own lives and the people around us.
Our Holy Book, the Bible says this (Romans 12:3) For the grace given me I say to everyone of you, ‘Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought; but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given each of us.’
Remember the old adage – Pride goes before a fall.
Let me pray with you. Almighty God, turn the spotlight on us this morning and show us if there are ‘prideful tendencies, that we have become bullies in our workplace. Also give us wisdom to be able to see people around us and to help those who have these tendencies, to help them work through these situations, to decrease any bullying in the workplace. Help us to see with your eyes and to act with your wisdom. I pray this for each one on this call. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Our Holy Book, the Bible says this (Romans 12:3) For the grace given me I say to everyone of you, ‘Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought; but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given each of us.’
Remember the old adage – Pride goes before a fall.
Let me pray with you. Almighty God, turn the spotlight on us this morning and show us if there are ‘prideful tendencies, that we have become bullies in our workplace. Also give us wisdom to be able to see people around us and to help those who have these tendencies, to help them work through these situations, to decrease any bullying in the workplace. Help us to see with your eyes and to act with your wisdom. I pray this for each one on this call. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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