A friend S now lives in Melbourne, Oz. His daughter moved out in the last couple years from the family home. She’s intelligent, articulate and fiercely independent. S himself is grateful that she takes after her mom.
Father/daughter share a love for football. S is a die-hard Liverpool fan, while she played throughout uni. One conversation they had before she moved out was about her choice of a life partner. S said to her (paraphrasing) “Your partner can be anybody, I don’t care. Just make sure he’s not a Manchester United fan”.
S as you can tell has a wicked sense of humour. His joke was his way of telling his daughter that he trusted her to know better than he did. Whatever views he had of an ideal partner for her were cast aside.
How is this related to leadership?
A common blind spot among successful executives is ego. Recognition from the board/senior management, the perks of the office and an environment where everyone within earshot finds their comments more insightful than others, often inflate egos.
One possible consequence is the belief that “I know better”. This may not show up every day but in times of stress, it’ll rear its ugly head.
An old’ish but still relevant reminder from HBR (link in first comment) on how not to let ego get in our own way:
- Embrace smart people who will speak their mind and won’t feed your ego.
- Reflect on what would happen if those who help you reach your goals each day are not present.
- Remember certain perks don’t help you do your work, e.g. reserved parking lot.
Stay curious, stay grateful, stay humble.