Reconsidering the role of ego in leadership

I’ve always considered the ego in leadership – especially an overplayed ego – to be a negative force. Ego is destructive in interpersonal relationships and makes complex situations even more challenging. When a leader lets their ego take over, they make poor decisions and spread mistrust and fear through their organisation. In a recent blog we advocated leadership as an ego-free zone, where leaders should be “putting all their energy into playing to help team members shine,” to enable “everyone to play to the very best of their ability.” But a recent trip to Dubrovnik prompted me to think deeper about the role of ego in leadership and contemplate it in all its dimensions.

Dubrovnik, as you may know, is a stunning and ancient walled city in Croatia. As the filming location for King’s Landing in Game of Thrones it’s become even more famous in recent years for its incredible architecture. The wall encircling the old town is vast – at least 10m high and 2m wide – surrounded by sea on two of its four sides. Walking around the town, you can see that it’s performed its job in protecting the town and its inhabitants for centuries, including during the Balkan war just a few decades ago. There are signs of post-conflict repair as well as general upkeep and restoration, but it’s still a magnificent and beautiful structure. It is also a structure that wouldn’t exist without ego in leadership.

This majestic wall was built by leaders driven by ego and a desire to protect themselves from external threats. They felt these threats because of an outside leader’s egotistical desire for wealth and power. In fact, when you think about it, all great buildings could be said to be founded on ego, whether fortifications to protect from invasion, or grandiose feats of architecture to proclaim wealth and success.

Without ego there would be no castles, cathedrals or colosseums. Our world would be all the poorer and less interesting without such beauty and ingenuity. On reflection, I have to admit that ego has driven humanity to be clever and creative. When we feel under threat, we find new wells of resilience and determination to achieve the seemingly impossible.

While I stand by my belief that ego in leadership is usually best placed to one side, when push comes to shove and the pressure is on, an innate sense of self-belief and an iron determination to succeed – both traits born out of ego – can be invaluable.

It’s worth considering as a leader, will our lasting legacy – like the walled city of Dubrovnik – be a testament to the incredible feats born of ego in leadership, or a tragic indictment of the folly of overplayed ego?

What do you think? After all, iTS Leadership.