The Ego ContinuumSAMPLE

Today, it’s rare that I go into a company and see inspiring
leaders that are taking the time to focus on their staff. It is highly
unusual to find a large business whose upper management
demonstrates active leadership, who inspire specifically and
set the tone for their employees to inspire themselves. I’ve
witnessed misperceptions of ineffective communication, where
leaders appeared to want to be more right than kind. They want
to catch their staff doing something wrong, versus building
their confidence by commending a particular improvement or
a productive behaviour. In these businesses, self-righteousness
appears as true narcissism, where a plethora of negative
perceptions run amok as no-one communicates effectively, or
from an authentic place. Most companies focus on the customer,
and they forget about their employees. That can be a crucial
mistake! If you focus on, embrace, and actively lead your
employees, they will automatically provide better experiences.
Your staff will feel motivated and inspired as a by-product of
you providing sincere time and humility. They will come to
work with a smile on their face because they feel valued and
aligned. What happens to the customer when your employees
feel like this?
It sounds so good—do right for your staff, and you will
compel them to do right for your clients. So why isn’t this
infrastructure everywhere? Simply put, to devote funds and time
into quality leadership is an investment for a lot of companies.
Many businesses consider it as training, and it’s the first expense
to go when recessions hit. Outside influences financially impact
organisations—inflation, in the year of a presidential election,
Brexit, disasters like 9/11 strike. Companies will make cuts, and
training is often first to go. They consider training as a luxury
and not a necessity. That’s just an epic fail. Changing how
we lead is not ‘training’. Manifesting a culture of feedback is
Introduction 9