Let Go of that Ego

I recently witnessed a small team going through a lot of change. As I watched the process unfold it became clearer and clearer to me why change is often so darn difficult. Ego.

The identified leader doesn’t want to fail so she resists being clear. She says she is empowering others to solve problems. It is easier to place blame than to take responsibility. This is ego.

The various team members don’t want to be seen as incompetent. So, they vie for power and control. They fail to work together and at times they even sabotage each other’s success. This is ego.

There are broken processes that need fixing. No one agrees on how to proceed.  People take staunch positions rather than seeing the value in other points of view. This is ego.

Imagine lobsters in a big silver bucket. They claw the sides trying to escape. They don’t care about the lobster next to them or under them. That is how I see so many teams in the workplace. We are all in it for ourselves. Our fear of being fired and our desire to be seen as valuable reduces us to lobsters in a bucket.  It is a futile struggle.

Trust is the antidote to ego. It reduces the swelling of the ego and increases the circulation of information and ideas in the workplace. So many business and people problems could be resolved if leaders would let go of their egos and build high trust. Well, a girl can dream, can’t she?  

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