Putting Ego in its Place (pt. 1)

“Never let your ego get so close to your position,
so that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.”
– General Colin Powell

It’s easy to assume a position of leadership or take the guidon of command, and think that we were made for the job…that the organization and its people need us there…or that we were ordained to lead.

The responsibility and the recognition of being a leader makes it easy to align our self-worth with our job. It can become who we are, our identity. Similarly, many of us display attitudes/emotions that fluctuate with how we think we are performing in our jobs (i.e., a bad day at work means a bad day at home).

EgoGeneral Colin Powell warns against letting the job overcome who we are, because one day the titles and responsibility will drift away, then what are we left with?

We should keep in mind a few key characteristics about leading in the military:
1. The unit you are leading is not yours…it’s the government’s.
2. The government didn’t create the job for you; it exists for the Nation’s people.
3. The unit and its members will continue to excel even after you leave.

So, it’s prudent to find a way to display passion for the work while appropriately divorcing emotional stability and self-worth. We can’t take the work’s esteem with us when we go. We can only focus on making a positive impact in the unit that outlasts our tenure.

More on ego in the next post.

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