Outwitting Your Ego in Business

have you ever made a decision in your business and thought to yourself wow I really nailed it only to have the results blow up in your face or have you ever ignored someone's advice because deep down you just knew that you were right and then only realized after the fact that maybe you should have listened sometimes we may have the best intentions but even that doesn't stop our hard work from going down the drain congrats my friend you've met your ego and it's not as Charming as you think I'm Jana Hennemann and today this is what we're talking about the ego what it is how to spot it why it can be the ultimate sabur of your business and most importantly how to trick it into working with you instead of against you what is the ego anyway before we dive into some juicy details let's nerd out for a minute the ego is just one part of your psyche According to Freud it's the mediator between your ID that Primal part of you that wants instant gratification eat the whole cake who cares the super ego the overly critical moral compass how dare you even think about cake and the ego The Negotiator one piece of cake is good enough right everything in moderation The Negotiator or your ego is supposed to keep both sides in check the ID and the super ego but in reality The Negotiator thinks that it's running the show most of the time when it isn't in business the ego looks like confidence is obnoxious Cousin It convinces you that you're smarter than the data that you don't need help and that admitting that you're wrong is the same as failing in actuality this couldn't be farther from the truth in Napoleon Hill's book outwitting The Devil the concept of drifting perfectly illustrates how the ego works against us drifting happens when you lack purpose and let external forces guide your decisions here's the kicker the ego loves drifting because it keeps you in a state of fear and indecision fear of failure fear of criticism and even fear of success all stem from the ego clinging to its comfort zone so what are some key parallels between the ego and Napoleon Hills themes well one is fear just like the devil's tool of fear the ego uses the fear of being wrong or losing control to paralyze action lack of purpose is another one when you're not clear on your goals your ego takes the reins and steers you towards distraction instead of meaningful work another one is resistance to change both the ego and the concept of drifting thrive on keeping you stuck in predictable patterns even when those patterns don't serve you so how do you spot your ego in action the ego doesn't wear a name tag so here are some telltale signs number one you're always the smartest person in the room or so you think if you dismiss other perspectives because they just don't get it or fill in any other excuse that's your ego talking two you take everything personally a critique of one of your ideas might feel like a personal attack on your soul three you overpromise and underd deliver because your ego loves making Grand declarations Without Really Consulting reality you might find yourself over promising and under delivering four you avoid feedback Because deep down your ego does not want to risk being wrong there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance and that line is humility but don't be fooled like I stated earlier The Negotiator thinks that it's in charge most of the time if you believe that you're humble and you act from this idea you're still going to want to keep yourself in check so how can the ego devastate your business you're more likely to burn Bridges your ego can make you defensive and combative which destroys your relationships with employees clients and co-workers you might also find yourself ignoring reality the ego loves a good Pie in the Sky Fantasy if you're making decisions based on what you wish was true instead of what's really going on your business may suffer three it stifles Innovation when your ego refuses to admit that there's a better way your business can stop growing you might also find yourself micromanaging your ego tells you no one else can do it as good as you can and you make sure everyone knows this isn't leadership this is sabotage your ego is like a toddler with a crown it needs boundaries but you also have to outsmart it here's a few ways you can outwit the devil so to speak number one ask questions you think you already know the answers to this forces your ego to confront the fact that you might not have it all figured out it's humbling and and that's the whole point two play The Devil's Advocate challenge your own ideas as if you're on the opposing team this not only improves your decision- making but it keeps your ego from running wild number three invite unqualified perspectives for example ask someone outside your industry for their take on a problem that you're experiencing or a challenge they might ask questions or offer insights that your ego would never consider next take a no credit challenge work on a project where you deliberately stay out of the Spotlight let someone else take the lead it might be a gut punch to your ego but it's a gift to your growth another thing you can do is write down every mistake you've made and uh share it with someone nothing deflates your ego faster and surprisingly this can be oddly freeing nothing like a little accountability to keep your ego in check one very humbling thing my mentor shared with me when I was starting to scale my business was this Jana no one will ever do it as good as you do while this sounded like an ego boost it was not for me at the time he told me this I was doing everything his goal was to help me scale and I was not on the path to doing that I was stuck and I wasn't growing I micromanaged people I worked 14-hour days and I was exhausted I was being a perfectionist if you will and my business wasn't growing because of it nothing was good enough my ego had come into play and I was operating from the space that if I wanted something done right I had to do it myself when I first launched We&Co I really thought thought that I had it all figured out after all I had years of experience and a rock solid Vision but my ego led me to overcommit ignore red flags and resist feedback from people who genuinely wanted to help my wakeup call came when my mentor asked do you want to be right or do you want to be successful that question forced me to reassess my stance and my viewpoint I had to start listening to others I had to start admitting when I was wrong and I had to focus on the outcome instead of my pride and once I did that everything started shifting and changing in summary your ego isn't the enemy but it's not your best friend either I often like to use the term fulcrum keeping your ego and balance is tricky but it's rewarding treat it like a wild horse it can take you places but only if you reain it in by asking better questions inviting fresh perspectives and holding yourself accountable you can outsmart your ego and steer your business towards success now it's your turn which of these strategies are you going to try first let me know in the comments and don't forget to like follow subscribe sign up for our Weekly Newsletter no fluff just the good stuff I'm Jana Hennemann and I will see you this time next week