How your inflated ego is interfering with your success

While self-respect and self-confidence are important for growth and development, having a distorted sense of self is anything but conducive to success. But how does an inflated sense of self stand in the way of your achievements? And what is the cost of having a big ego at the workplace?

In this post, we will highlight some negative traits of egocentric people and how to overcome them in order to advance and improve both personally and professionally.

The dark side of having a big ego:

• Failure to truly listen

Being an egocentric boss often means that you live in your own bubble. You never Listen to advice and refuse to discuss important issues because you always think you know better. Moreover, you are unable to hear people’s concerns or listen to other arguments. This means you will probably miss out on growth opportunities since people will avoid approaching you with their new ideas.

The solution: To be a good leader, you need to be receptive, available and open-minded. You also need to truly listen to colleagues as well as customers to better understand their needs and concerns and give them what they want.

See Also: How to Overcome Failure & Move Past it

• Trying to take credit for everything

Ego-driven leaders want to take credit for everything. This causes resentment in the workplace. It also makes employees hesitant to put their best ideas forward. When employees start thinking of the workplace as a battlefield, they will develop an ‘every man to himself’ mentality. With a mentality like this in place, your company will miss out on great chances for growth and success.

The solution: Try to reward employees for their great ideas. Moreover, do take responsibility when things go wrong. Also, get the best out of your team by motivating, encouraging and rewarding them for their success.

• Refusing to acknowledge mistakes

The ego is insecure and vulnerable, which is why it is afraid of self-doubt and being wrong. Being an egocentric boss means that you will always refuse to acknowledge your mistakes. This will lead you to stick blindly to your bad decisions. Moreover, it can make you vocal and critical about the mistakes and imperfections of others.

The solution: Understand that admitting your mistakes is crucial for your success and improvement. Also, take time to learn from your mistakes so you can avoid making the same ones in the future.

See Also: How to Handle Employee Conflict at the Workplace

• Prioritizing status above all else

Your business is what matters first and foremost. You must always remember that. However, when you have an inflated ego, you will think of how your decisions will reflect on you rather than your business. Furthermore, you will allow yourself to go into personal power plays that can really harm your brand and its reputation.

The solution: Put your customers and their satisfaction above all else. Being the alpha at the workplace has its advantages but it can backfire when you project that on how you deal with your customers.

• Underestimating big challenges

Entrepreneurs with bigger than life egos can often be delusional. They can underestimate Big Challenges and end up failing miserably. When you can’t see the road clearly ahead and make light of situations, you end up being unprepared to handle big challenges.

The solution:  Listen to advice, plan strategically and take calculated risks. Do not dive into the deep end blindly with your wishful thinking guiding you through.

Are your pride and ego keeping you from reaching your full potential? What are you doing to fix the situation? Let us hear from you in the comment section below. 

The post How Can A Big Ego Can Affect Your Business Success? appeared first on The Global Now.