Why Ego is the Enemy of Innovation and How to Overcome It
Read time: 3 minutes, 43 seconds
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Reach your future-state by learning today:
- Why Ego Hinders Innovation
- How to Temper Ego for Better Creativity and Innovation
- What You Can Do Right Now
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Hi Reader,
Something struck me about innovation last week.
I was coaching an MBA cohort on their Innovation by Design Course intensive weekend when, at the end of the first day, I was impressed with ‘how confused’ they were.
Does this sound strange?
Let me explain.
Confusion was a strong signal they were fully dedicated to exploring a problem space.
And, in doing so, they left ‘solution thinking’ behind and showed courage to embrace discovering new information directly from the context and people involved thereby challenging their assumptions and beliefs.
Let’s dive in!
Why Ego Hinders Innovation
The ego can be a formidable barrier to innovation, inhibiting learning, blocking collaboration, and promoting a fear of failure.
When ego takes hold, it makes us believe we already know everything we need to, stifling our curiosity and willingness to explore the unknown.
In his book “Ego is the Enemy,” Ryan Holiday emphasises the importance of humility in our aspirations. He reminds us that staying grounded and avoiding the trap of thinking we are better than we are can keep our minds open to new knowledge and perspectives.
Moreover, ego-driven individuals often struggle to work well with others. Innovation is inherently a team sport, where the best ideas frequently emerge from collaborative efforts. When ego interferes, it can create silos and hinder effective teamwork.
Success can quickly inflate our ego, making us believe we are infallible. Holiday advises that we should stay humble even when we succeed, acknowledging the help and contributions of others along the way. This humility can pave the way for better team dynamics and richer idea exchange.
The ego also promotes a crippling fear of failure. An inflated ego can make the prospect of failure unbearable, leading to risk-averse behaviour.
Innovation requires taking risks, learning from failures, and iterating on ideas. This is necessary for progress to succeed. Holiday highlights the value of being resilient in our failures. By embracing and learning from our failures, we can grow and improve, turning setbacks into stepping stones for success.
How to Temper Ego for Better Creativity and Innovation
From my experience, three critical practices help temper ego and enhance creativity and innovation:
1. Remaining Curious: Curiosity drives us to explore new ideas and seek fresh perspectives. By maintaining a curious mindset, we stay open to learning and avoid the trap of thinking we have all the answers.
2. Seek Diverse Perspectives: Innovation thrives on diversity. Actively seeking and valuing different viewpoints enriches our understanding and sparks creative solutions. Encourage diverse voices in your team and be open to feedback from various sources.
3. Experiment and Fail Forward: Embrace a culture of experimentation. Allow yourself and your team to try new things, make mistakes, and learn from them. Failing forward means using failures as stepping stones to success rather than setbacks.
In addition to managing ego, fostering a culture of intellectual bravery is crucial for innovation. According to HBR, intellectual bravery involves:
Encouraging Dissenting Views: Creating an environment where diverse opinions are welcomed and valued. This means encouraging team members to challenge the status quo and present alternative perspectives.
Promoting Psychological Safety: Ensuring that team members feel safe to express their ideas without fear of ridicule or retribution. Leaders play a crucial role in modelling and promoting psychological safety.
Rewarding Risk-taking: Recognising and rewarding efforts to innovate, even when they do not lead to immediate success. This reinforces the value of learning from experimentation and failure.
What You Can Do Right Now
Letting go of the ego opens us to continuous learning and improvement. A growth mindset allows us to embrace challenges and learn from setbacks, which is essential for innovative thinking.
Ego-minimal environments encourage open communication, trust, and collaboration. When team members feel valued and heard, they are more likely to contribute creative ideas and solutions.
Overcoming ego allows us to focus on the bigger picture and the impact of our work, shifting the emphasis from personal success to collective achievement.
1. Practice Humility
- Seek feedback Regularly: Encourage regular feedback from peers and team members to gain new perspectives.
- Acknowledge Contributions: Publicly recognise the contributions of others to diminish self-centredness.
2. Embrace Vulnerability
- Share Failures: Openly discuss your failures and what you learned from them.
- Encourage Risk-Taking: Create a safe environment where team members feel comfortable taking calculated risks without fear of retribution.
3. Cultivate Empathy
- Active Listening: Practise active listening to understand the viewpoints of others truly.
- Mentorship: Engage in mentoring relationships to both teach and learn from others.
4. Encourage Diverse Voices
- Inclusive Practices: Implement policies that ensure diverse voices are heard and valued.
- Cross-Functional Teams: Promote cross-functional collaboration to bring varied perspectives into projects.
5. Promote Intellectual Bravery
- Safe Space for Ideas: Create forums where team members can freely share innovative ideas without judgment.
- Recognise Bravery: Reward intellectual bravery, even if the ideas don’t always succeed.
Whenever I have let my ego become too dominant I’ve become closed off to new information, less collaborative and my impact has been reduced.
Let’s commit to fostering a culture where humility, collaboration, and continuous learning drive us forward.
“Your ego can become an obstacle to your work. If you start believing in your greatness, it is the death of your creativity.” – Marina Abramović
That’s all from me today!
Really hope this helps you become more innovative.
Catch you next week,
Vaughan
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