Creating negative undercurrents…

As I try to maintain consistency with this blog, the challenge becomes in finding fresh topics. I have had several situations over the past few weeks that have proved to be distractions to my writing. Hopefully, I can get back on track. In this post I want to explore egos in business and how much they can distract from our business acumen.

One of the situations I recently faced involved a project that I designed for an organization. I have extensive experience in this type of project. It was my strong recommendation that the project be conducted so as to avoid any and all skewing in the results. Rather than take my advice, the leader decided to play the ego game and insisted that the project be executed in a different manner. The different approach had no foundation and would clearly be in opposition to the desired outcome. No amount of explaining this worked. Now the end result is that I have had to excuse myself from the entire process as I cannot put my expertise to something that I know will lead to inaccurate and unusable results. What comes to my mind is “what good did that serve?” There is now alienation on both sides and it is the organization that will suffer.

As business leaders we need to let our own egos go and know when to rely on others. We are not experts in everything. No human is perfect and has all encompassing knowledge. Being a great leader means you know when to defer to alternative viewpoints. Business acumen in the organizational sense means you know when to put the success of the venture above your own ego.

The entire situation was made even more ridiculous when different leaders within the organization started opposing email campaigns so as to rally support for their personal viewpoints. Creating negative undercurrents will not unite a group towards success – it will divide them in frustration. Yes, frustration. While your ego might be screaming “I am right just because I am the leader” everyone else will be looking for the exit. It is just too frustrating to deal with decisions made for personal agendas rather than group success. Know when to defer – it doesn’t mean you are weak. It means you are well on your way to becoming a great leader with strong business acumen.

Yes, the organization will continue but believe me, I am looking for the exit…

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”