It’s Not About You
Ego is the Great Career Derailer.
Over the years that I worked at Chick-fil-A, I often heard our Founder, Truett Cathy quote a familiar Zig Ziglar line: “If you help enough people get enough of what they want, you will eventually get what you want.” It was simply one of the many ways Truett taught people the principle of putting others first.
Developing the ability to put others first, leading by serving and focusing on adding value rather than extracting it are important skills in managing your own ego. An out of control ego often leads to a derailed career. If you want to crush your career, managing your ego is an important skill to develop.
How can you keep your own ego in check? Here are some practical suggestions:
· Listen more and speak less. Listen first and for understanding. Don’t think about what you are going to say next, but instead validate the ideas of the person speaking. Ask clarifying questions and ask for examples that help them better make their point. Then, share your own thoughts about the subject or decision.
· Make others the hero of the story. If you lead a team and they accomplish a big goal, shine the light and recognition on the team, not your leadership. Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited with the quote: “There is no limit to what can be accomplished if it doesn't matter who gets the credit.” Your performance as a leader is measured by the success of your team. Your job is to cast the vision, define and measure goals, assign accountability and celebrate their success.
· Abandon the attitude of “What’s in it for me?” and Adopt the spirit of “How can I help?” In almost every interaction, there is an opportunity to add value. Look for ways to add value to others instead of taking value to add to yourself. One tactic is to simply to end every interaction with the words, “How can I help?”
· Find truth tellers to provide feedback and accountability. If we are going to manage our ego, we need to be sure we have people in our lives who will let us now when we are not living our purpose or when our attitude is not service minded. The truth might hurt, but it will hurt far less than the results of an unmanaged ego.
· Express gratitude. When we focus our thoughts on being thankful for what we have rather than grumbling about what we don’t, then we minimize the opportunity for egoism to creep in to our thinking. Find something to be grateful for every day exuding an optimistic outlook rather than complaining and spewing pessimism. When bad things happen, you are not the only one that is impacted. Express empathy for others instead of wallowing in your own disappointment.
· Own your mistakes. If you fail at something or make mistakes, take responsibility and don’t blame others. Usually, response and recovery to a mistake is far more important than the mistake itself. Seek to understand how the mistake occurred, learn from it and do your best not to repeat it.
Confidence is critical to succeeding at most anything. Believing you are fully equipped to solve problems, perform well, grow relationships and deliver results will help you crush your career and life. Confidence is not a pre-cursor to egotism. Self-absorption is the pre-cursor to egotism. Avoid focusing on yourself to prevent derailing your career and your future.
Here’s a hard truth: every important decision made about your career will be made when you are not in the room. Whether or not you are selected, promoted, how much you are compensated and even whether or not to let you go are all decisions made when you are not in the room. You will need champions, sponsors and advocates in the room to represent you. Devote your days to adding value to others by serving and helping them instead of promoting yourself and you will not be at a loss for people who are for you.
Want to learn more about how to keep your ego in check and crush your career? Then check out my new book Crush Your Career: Ace the Interview, Land the Job and Launch Your Future. Order here: https://www.amazon.com/Crush-Your-Career-Interview-Launch/dp/0801094372.
