Consideration to Omit Ego in Making a Decision

First of all, personalization is different from passion. We as leaders need to have conviction about what we do; w need to love our work and the people who do the work for us. That’s called passion. On contrary, personalization is the conflation of hubris and ego; it could cause a loss of focus because the high level executives put what they want to do ahead of what the company should do. Personalization is in fact the enemy of the business case, and for that reason we should avoid it. So here are some ways that every leader must consider during making a decision that will have significant consequence on the organization.

1. Consider how the decision will affect the organization’s ability to fulfill its mission. Managers who push their teams to achieve “stretch goals” without providing adequate support and resources may be seeking to get noticed by their bosses rather than helping the company serve its customers. Such behavior will have another side effect — talent will omit. The answer to this question must enhance the organization, not simply the resume of the manager.

2. The business case for our decision should factor in the people quotient and affects on headcount, training, and development. Workers must undergo what leaders decide, so if workers perceive that their boss is only doing something to make himself look good, they’ll be reluctant to embrace the change. They may comply, but they may never commit unless they determine the benefit for themselves.

3. When we are involved in a project, it is easy to entangle ego with outcome. Healthy ego is necessary, but when too much ego makes you blind to obvious problems such as lack of resources, customer disinterest, and worker morale, problems then arise. As we have seen with corporate executives in the financial sector, it isn’t positive when personal interest comes before corporate and public interest. So if the consideration to this point of view is more in favor of you rather than the company, the issue may be over-personalized and need more deliberation.

There is one aspect of personality leaders should possess, and that is compassion.
Too much personalization can be deadly, and keeping a check on it will help you navigate over treacherous issues with a clear and open mind, rather than one clouded by arrogance.