One among the billions of similar creatures on an insignificant piece of rock revolving a menial aging star in a minor galaxy which if in itself gets annihilated truly at the cosmic scale of things no one will even notice. It would be such a miniscule change like a dust particle appearing and disappearing in a ray of light from the window but we carry our egos to such superficial levels that we are the driving forces behind the cosmic expansion.
Take a deep breath and realize and internalize this fact. Sometimes coming out of our routine-self and thinking beyond the body mind complex becomes necessary to understand that I, Me, Myself is not the final word in a larger schema of life. At times we all come across some leaders who’s egos and attitudes are detrimental to not only their own personal growth but also towards their organizations as well. Being humble is one of the biggest qualities which one can inculcate in order to be successful and more importantly once we are successful to an extent. Maintaining that aura of humbleness is one of the key factors which make a leader and separates them from being mere boss.
Everyone remembers how they got treated, it has a deep and long lasting impact. Words and tones and body language might be forgotten over a period of time but the overall experience is remembered. Most of highly successful leaders make their peer and subordinates feel valued and important. They have a tendency to control their ID, EGO and SuperEGO to quote Sigmund Freud in his psycho analytic theory “According to him, certain aspects of your personality are more primal and might pressure you to act upon your most basic urges. Other parts of your personality work to counteract these urges and strive to make you conform to the demands of reality.”
To understand it better Id is there by birth which only demands to fulfill its needs by any or all means like a kid when get hungry its beyond reasoning and will keep on crying till the demand is fulfilled. So primarily it works on pleasure principle. I need to be satisfied no matter what is the sum total of Id.
Ego on the other hand which makes the demands of Id to be more socially acceptable. Its works on the basis of Id or something we know as reptilian brain which is responsible for self serving behavior and gradually we tend to tame the socially un acceptable behaviors of Id to work more towards the delayed gratification.
Super Ego is shaped with cultural, parental and social norms complex form the early age of 5 to make the behavior in accordance to time, place and situation. However once successful, we tend to downplay super ego and mostly start playing in the hands of Ego and which is not only detrimental but also decreases the reliability and likability of leaders. Thus its often said those who are well grounded or well rooted have better behavior towards the people.
Thus it’s more so ever important for the leaders to become humble with success and learn to control their psyche in a better manner. Instead of being played in the hands of Id and Ego those of us who learn control the fallacy of being big man and tame their instinct of dominance at all cost tend be respected as leaders.
Being humble perhaps the base quality which distinct a leader from the boss.
Leadership Insights 