Ego sometimes gets a bad rep.
It is sometimes used as a synonym for conceit or having an over-inflated sense of self-importance.
I believe that the more useful way to define ego is as a measure of self-esteem or the value that we place on ourselves.
With this definition, there is a reflection of what is a useful degree of self-esteem and personal value, what's too much and indeed what's too little.
That's the distinction in my experience between ego and confidence, it's possible to have too much ego, but you can't have too much confidence.
It is impossible to have too much confidence.
Confidence has humility attached to it which is very different from arrogance or conceit.
This is important to understand as a leader.
There are times when ego and confidence must take centre stage in order for us to gain buy-in or to create a sense of certainty in our stakeholders, colleagues or customers.
Other times we need to step back into the shadows and let others shine.
In my early days in consultancy, one of the attributes we would look for in a new recruit was ‘the ability to light up a room but not to have to’.
Truly confident people will be comfortable when the spotlight is on others, knowing their turn will come and not be driven to wrestle the spotlight back.
The true secret of confidence is something that I explore in depth in my year-long one-to-one leadership development programme 'The Confident Leader'.
To find out if the programme is right for you, email me now at richard@twentyoneleadership.com to set up a discovery call.