The ego centers around a person's sense of self-esteem or self-importance, that is not always a bad thing , there is a place and time for everything , but in Leadership the ego can prevent you from seeing what is really going on around you. Emphasizing you are always right and putting down others is clearly a you problem with your ego and a sign you don't know how to see things from a different perspective Unconsciously , your Ego will always try to protect you and will find the easiest way out if you are not careful. In its struggle to test reality against your sense of personal identity is a part of your being as a conscious thinking subject and will always need maintenance. What is good for your ego will not always be good for the heart and the community.
Great leadership is not always about being “right.” or being the best and most respected. In fact, it rarely is. The leader’s job is to bring out the best in others and to engage them in working together to do what’s best for the Temple or any other organization. This cannot happen when a leader is too attached to their own ideas or convinced that they are the smartest person in the room. That’s why humility is one of the most important traits a leader can have. To stay Humble in those circumstances can be quite the challenge , well because sometimes , you are right! But leading with humility is about taking yourself out of the center of the equation, about keeping the spotlight on others. It’s about quieting the ego so we’re open to learning and we’re focused on continuous improvement and growth as oneself, and others. Being a good leader is not about being meek or giving in all the time. When you think you are not good enough to be a leader , you probably are not. Self knowledge about our strengths and weaknesses , know how to take a compliment with the same grace as criticism of our functioning. We are in a wonderful position as Jedi to help others develop that strength and offer them the tools to get to know themselves.
Developing Humility
For many of us, humility is one of the hardest traits to develop, because it has to start from a recognition that you are not always right, and that you do not have all the answers.
It also requires an acceptance of yourself which many of us find challenging.
It is relatively easy to be humble when you are at the bottom of the tree, as it were: new in a job, or very junior. The more senior you get, however, the more likely you are to have people looking to you for answers, and the more you find yourself believing that you can help.
If you are not careful, you can reach senior positions—just the moment at which you most need humility—believing that you are more or less infallible.
Pride and arrogance, which also cover smugness, snobbery, and vanity, are unpleasant words. It can sometimes be hard to avoid feeling a bit proud of ourselves, or vain, or even snobbish. It is often quite pleasant to feel like that, for example, if we have done something good, and everyone is praising us. However, we tend not to call these feelings by name, because the words themselves carry negative connotations.
To cultivate humility, review your feelings against the words: ask yourself ‘was that snobbish?’, ‘was I being a bit vain then?’, and be honest about the answers. Recognising and naming these feelings for what they are is a good step towards humility.
A humble leader doesn't assume they have all the answers. They know that an inflated ego can cause them to make bad decisions and lead the team down the wrong path. We are in a Jedi Temple so there really is not a wrong path as such , but an insecure and ego driven leader can still do a lot of damage. To know yourself and work on your insecurities and trying to direct the attention outwards promotes teamwork more than always trying to establish the upper hand. Also, it can alienate people rather than engaging them, create dependency rather than ownership, and promote individualism rather than teamwork. Finally, an inflated ego can hinder learning and problem-solving. It's the leader’s job to model a love of learning for everyone in the Temple—and humility is at the heart of that.
