Don’t Let Ego Get In The Way of Your Business
By Guest Post at January 26, 2013 | 10:18 am | Print
Don’t Let Ego Get In The Way of Your Business
(Is Your Ego Hurting Your Business?)
Successful entrepreneurs have a strong sense of self-confidence. Success breeds success and success rewards with a glow of accomplishment. Success is the result of meeting a number of challenges and with each milestone crossed it is easy to feel more and more invincible.
You may enjoy a status above the fray. You might become a pillar of the community and a force in your industry. Other entrepreneurs may ask you for advice. In general, you will bask in the success of accomplishing your vision.
At this time, it is important to maintain a sense of yourself. The reason persons seek you out is because you have inspired confidence through your success. You are successful and have managed it all while keeping your personality and values in check. This posture combining determination, purpose, confidence, fiscal responsibility, a superlative work ethic is the strongest of character attributes, integrity.
The power of integrity is what distinguishes you. Unfortunately, not every entrepreneur succeeds gracefully. There is nothing like ego, or an inflated sense of self-importance, to reverse your personal and business growth. It is a dangerous trait that can interfere with your personal relationships and your business relationships.
Symptoms of Exaggerated Ego
It is a fine line between confidence and ego, between a superstar and being a hard head. Ego is the basis of poor decision- making. When you think you know all the answers, it is time to stop and get a grip on your emotional self.
There is a definite difference between being a rah-rah, rally-the-troops leader and a self-consumed, dictatorial, “it’s my way or the highway” leader. Strong leadership skills are admired by employees, suppliers and customers, while egomaniacs are abrasive, offensive and lowly regarded by all the above groups.
These are warning signs that your ego may be out of control.
• Employees regard you as unapproachable.
• Vendors are unenthusiastic about providing you services.
• Persons do not look you in the eye.
• Businessmen and businesswomen do not seek your counsel.
• People avoid you.
• Phone calls are unreturned.
• You find yourself taking over people.
• You do not see any other point of view.
• The first-person singular dominates your conversation.
• Your body-language repels people not greets them.
• Your concentration is unfocused.
• You create ways to avoid things you used to enjoy.
• Nobody else has come up with a good idea in months.
Uncontrolled ego has repercussions.
• People would rather do business with someone else.
• Staff turnover is too high.
• You do not listen to constructive advice.
• You are not asked to serve on industry or community committees that could benefit your enterprise.
• People avoid conversations with you.
• You are regarded as aloof and self-centered.
• Customers tire of your repertoire.
• Your personal and professional invites diminish.
• Your investors look for other investments.
Uncontrolled ego is challenging to overcome. In most cases, the best remedy is to return to your core values, the values that made you a success. Smile, laugh, improve your body language and be a better listener. Your business relies upon you to be its biggest, most credible and more reputable advocate.
Repair the damage. Reach out to customers, vendors, lenders, investors, industry experts and the community. In this era of collaboration, there is no room for an egotistical leader. Collaborators want open-minded partners. If your ego is getting in the way of a cross-organizational structure, you are hurting the business and it will show. On the other hand, if you can right the ship, you can expect your successful business to become more successful.
By
Lewis Edward is one of owners of TheOfficeProviders.com . He is a passionate entrepreneur and he occasionally shares his insights in some of the top business blogs. His company provides any kind of office space including serviced offices , business centres and office space for rent , you can find more details by visiting his website.
