I’m working on a post on Trust – so in the meantime I hope you enjoy this short – and a bit provocative post. 🙂 

What drives your ego?

Leaders in the 20th century were great because of themselves.

Leaders in the 21st century are great because of their teams.

 

20th century – me

21st century – we

 

Some few leaders in the 20th century had actually figured this out! Go back about 70 years – quote Mahatma Gandhi – the measure of a great leader isn’t how many followers he or she has, but the number of great leaders he or she has developed.

 

If you want to create short-lived, personal success – then let your personal ego drive you. However, there is a different way.

 

By the way – Ego isn’t a bad thing – Ego is actually good.

Ego drives competition, improvement and excellence.

 

The question is just how you feed your ego. If you feed your ego with self-interest you may succeed for a time, but in the modern world your success will not be sustainable.

To be successful you need to have an “interest” that drives you – it just can’t be self-interest!

Your ego must be driven by “team-interest”.

 

To quote – “The cost of leadership is self-interest.” – Lt. Gen. George Flynn, USMC (ret.)

 

21st Century Leaders are driven by the interests of the team, the individuals on the team and of the company.

 

Message to all you young men and women out there who want to be managers.

Think seriously about it!

Being a leader is one of the most rewarding jobs on the planet!

And if you want success, then focus on the development of people and creating results through others – so that they get the credit… their results are your results! Let your ego feed on these.

 

David