Self-interest may be instinctive, but an inflated ego can ruin your career

TO VARYING degrees, we are motivated to act in our own best interests.

This is an instinctive reaction, probably with evolutionary roots, and is what makes many of us successful.

However, ego can also have a very negative effect on our lives and our careers. If any of the following describe you, then ego may be ruining your career:

You feel elevated from gossiping about other people’s flaws;

You find yourself in a feisty discussion and you just can’t back down until you have “won” the argument;

You constantly compare yourself to other people who you feel are better (or worse) than you;

You feel jealous when other people do well;

You talk about yourself for 10 minutes before asking another how they are;

You set yourself impossible goals and then beat yourself up when you don’t reach them;

You blame others when things don’t go your way.

Zoe B from Simple Life Strategies writes clearly and simply about ego and its effect on us:

“It’s that part of us that seeks approval – and by very definition it is a part of us that feels lacking in some way.”

Here are five things that happen when you let your ego dominate:

Arrogance

Confidence is one thing, arrogance is another.

Arrogance happens when somebody is extremely egocentric. Arrogant people are very pleased with themselves.

They like hogging the limelight. It eventually wears people down until they just don’t like you at all.

Selfishness

Much like an arrogant person, a selfish person believes it’s all about them. They’re not interested in anyone else; their own feelings are all that matter.

Only looking out for yourself in this fashion is a bit like stealing oxygen from everyone else.

If someone is too selfish they’ll get the same negative response from their colleagues as arrogance does.

Over-Claiming

People with big egos state how wonderful they are on a regular basis. They find it hard to understand that others prefer it when you show them that you’re wonderful instead of just telling them you are.

If you genuinely think you’re better than you actually are and you’re not setting out to deliberately mislead people, you just come across as dishonest.

Stealing Credit

Once word gets around the workplace that you’re taking credit for other people’s work, you’ll become public enemy No 1 among your colleagues.

Insensitivity

This kind of egotist can quite quickly become unpopular with a lot of different parties within an organisation due to the stress they cause others.

Insensitivity can ruin your career by driving potential allies away, thus leaving you isolated.

Ego is not your friend and needs to be overcome.

Reflect on how you behave and on whether your ego may be ruining your career.

There is no “quick-fix”, as you may need to remodel a lifetime of bad habits.

However, self-awareness is the first step.