Key Reasons to Leave Your Entrepreneurial Ego at the Door

You like to impress upon your team the importance of leaving their egos at the door. After all, clashing egos in the workplace produces poor morale that inevitably leads to lower productivity. You emphasize the importance of team work, helping one another reach their goals, and encourage them in their positions and careers. But, have you left your ego at the door?

Many entrepreneurs and small business owners promote selfless behavior, while at the same time possessing “big boss egos” that can cause friction with subordinates. But you can still be a leader without the ego. Here are several admirable traits that real leaders possess.

Communication is a Two-Way Street. Egomaniacal bosses tend to treat communication as a one-way street. They bark orders and send stinging electronic missives that provide team members with no recourse for providing feedback. Entrepreneurs and small business owners that listen tend to panic less because they have received a well-rounded view of how to solve problems.

How to be a true leader requires you to make workplace communication a free flowing two-way street. Implement “open door” policies and pay attention to your body language when having conversations with team members. Remember, it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.

Stop the Blame Game. Small business owners and entrepreneurs who continually blame others for their shortcomings or when projects head south can expect to create unproductive work environments. True leaders accept responsibility and accountability for their actions. Whenever they make mistakes, they own up to them, find and propose solutions, and learn from those mistakes. Entrepreneurs who want to become small business heroes must take responsibility for their actions.

Share the Glory. Many managers like to take credit for small business and entrepreneurial successes. But this is just one attribute that sets a part a manager from a leader. True leaders attribute some of their success to their team members. Employees are one of the most important assets to any small business. Small business operators and entrepreneurs who take the reins and lead without the big ego always reward their employees for exceeding goals.

Spread the Mantle of Leadership. As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you do not have to take the lead on every project. Leaders delegate responsibilities, tasks, and projects to team members, encouraging them and challenging them appropriately. This display of selfless behavior not only motivates your high achieving employees to seek more responsibility, but the act of spreading leadership demonstrates that you are just one piece (not THE piece) in the small business operation.

Know-it-Alls Know Nothing. Egotistical entrepreneurs and small business owners think they know it all. They chide other workers for mistakes and pipe in every time someone needs an answer to a question. However, true leaders recognize they don’t know it all and openly seek answers and advice for problems by asking team members to help them find solutions. Selfless entrepreneurs and small business owners learn new things every day to enhance organizational performance.

Being a true leader really stands entrepreneurs a part from being a manager. It separates the men from the boys, and the women from the girls. But regardless of what small business industry you dominate, or whether you are male or female, being a true leader is really what counts. Exhibit one of the superb qualities of successful entrepreneurs by leaving your ego at the door.

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