What if it’s not just AI, changes in your job, or the new world of work that are challenging you, but also something you carry around with you? Something that often feels like self-confidence, but in reality causes you to justify yourself, want to win, or take criticism personally?
In the new episode of New Rules of the Game – Leadership, Work, AI: What Really Matters Now , for once, the focus isn’t on the big changes happening out there, but on something that’s at work within us: our ego.
After all, it’s especially in our professional lives that this often becomes apparent – in situations where we’re determined to be right, defend our status, maintain control, or prove something to others. Criticism quickly becomes personal, other perspectives feel like an attack, and self-confidence imperceptibly turns into self-assertion.
The problem: We often don’t even realize that our ego has long since taken the reins.
Self-leadership begins where the ego becomes apparent
It’s not about getting rid of your ego. That would be neither realistic nor sensible. What matters most is recognizing when it’s in full swing.
When do I react more strongly than the situation actually calls for? When do I defend something just because I don’t want to lose? When do I cling to control because I’m afraid of losing my sense of importance?
This form of self-leadership is becoming increasingly important, especially in a workplace that is changing at an ever-faster pace due to AI, new roles, and evolving leadership models. After all, anyone who wants to lead others must also be able to recognize what drives them.
True freedom, therefore, does not come from eliminating our ego, but from learning to manage it.
The latest episode of New Rules of the Game: on ego, self-management, criticism, loss of control, and the question of who is actually in charge of your life.
Feel free to give it a listen:
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