Set the Ego Aside and Be a Leader

Set the Ego aside and lead.  

Writing about agile, scrum, software development, and leadership is like walking around with a giant target on your back.  The people who know you and work with you are on the watch for you practicing what you preach.  It makes you very aware of what you do and how you do it.  Making matters more complicated is you often tie up your ego in your work, so when others question your leadership, it feels like a personal attack.  We need to talk about ego and leadership.

Being in charge of others is a serious responsibility.  It is also a massive charge to your ego.  People count on you, and they listen to your orders.  Being a boss has plenty of perks.  In reality, the respect, obedience, and ego boost of leadership is an illusion because the responsibilities of leading others are often more significant than the perks.

Additionally, someone above you is expecting a result.  Thus, a leader is pulled in two different directions one by the people he is tasked to lead and the other by the people who lead them.  It is a delicate balance.  It is why I am a big believer in what is called servant leadership.  It is the notion that the best kind of leadership is the kind where you are serving others.  Instead of concentrating on authority and action, a servant leader is a coach and a mentor.  The military has a saying, “Officers eat last.”  The implication is that only when the troops have a healthy meal is it time for the leadership to dine.  It puts the needs of the people doing the fighting and dying over the needs of the people who lead them.  In the civilian world, it means the performance of the team is more important than the ego of the leader.  

In software development, a leader is often in charge of people who are smarter than they are.  It means that advice is coming from a place of knowledge, and it is up to a leader to consider it seriously.  It means setting aside your personal needs and looking out for the team and its mission.  I have only recently come to this discovery.  Set your ego aside and listen to others on how to be a better leader.  Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said it correctly when he said, “Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.”

Author Kim Scott, in her work, “Radical Candor,” further reinforces this mindset.  Ask for feedback and receive it gladly.  Take time out to put that feedback into actionable practice.  Finally, check back with the people giving you feedback because it shows that you care, and you are seeking to improve.  Leadership is not about you or your ego.  Leadership is about the team and getting things done.

As leaders, we need to get over ourselves and focus on improving ourselves and our teams.  It means letting go of our ego and accepting feedback.  When you reach this understanding is when you transition from being a boss to a servant leader.  

Until next time.