I don’t know if animals have egos, just as I don’t know if they have consciousness, but I do know that human beings have both, consciousness and ego – and there are an abundance of definitions and approaches to describe what these concepts mean!
It has been my long-lasting passion to better understand these two words, and explore how to elevate consciousness and lower the negative effects of ego in our practical world, for myself and for others.
The foundation of my interest and understanding comes from my work with Learning as Leadership (LaL), whose approach and unique methodology is to identify and map out the “ego-system” – the unconscious strategies that we human beings have developed while growing up to over-protect and over-prove our sense of self-worth.
That’s why I am excited to announce the release of the book Ego-free Leadership co-written by Shayne Hughes, president of Learning as Leadership and Brandon Black the retired CEO of Encore Capital Group. In an enthralling story, they alternate presenting their perspectives to describe and explain the journey that Brandon Black and his team embraced to “work on themselves” and change the organizational culture, leading to amazingly positive results despite a fragile economic context.
I had the privilege to be part of the adventure and accompany one of my dear clients, Amy Anuk, who navigated “working on her ego” and raising awareness within her team on involuntary cultural gender dynamics (chapter 7). As a result of exercising a centered leadership voice, she was able to get the buy-in and support of her male colleagues and launch an internal Women’s Leadership Development Program. But that’s another story for another book!
Meanwhile, Ego-free Leadership is a clear, thorough and engaging presentation of the LaL methodology. It took more than 30 years to capture this profound work on paper. So, kudos to the writers (including Lara and Noah Nuer).
Plus, the book tells a great story about what it takes for a CEO and his team to create a safe environment where taking responsibility for one’s own “hot buttons”/emotional trigger points is the norm. I recommend this book to any leader interested in fostering an inspiring learning culture in her/his organization.
You can pre-order Ego-Free Leadership here. It will be available March 14, 2017. I hope you will enjoy!
We have an owl who sits outside our bedroom window and occasionally hoots to other owls in our community. Next time I gaze up at my friend, I shall have a little chuckle in my mind as our eye’s inevitably meet and I wonder what my friend is thinking.
I’d love to visit and meet your owl friend!
I thought our conscious (damn, as a perfectionist, I always try to check the spelling) IS ego, and the rest is something we may or may not be aware of (the superego, the id). Or, at least I thought that was some Freudian way of thinking 🙂
Riia