I came across an interesting job posting recently—one that listed “must be an ego-less contributor, always ready to listen, always eager to learn, but also able to objectively assert oneself based on experience and best practices” as a requirement to do the job effectively.
Imagine an organization where all individuals showed up with this mindset? Why, this organization could accomplish almost anything they set out to do.
If you walked into an organization that was fueled by people like this, you’d see a highly collaborative, agile, creative, optimistic group of people doing big things in the world—even changing the world. I personally think that every organization could learn from these characteristics. They are, after all, identified as essential in creating cultures of innovation from big thinkers like the Harvard Business Review.
Take it from Steve Jobs who said that getting fired from Apple was the most humbling, yet life and career shifting experience that ultimately resulted in a healthier ego and greater openness to collaborate. In a speech he delivered to Stanford a few years back, Jobs said that he was certain that his recent successes with Pixar, iPod, iTunes, etc., wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been fired from Apple (and recognized the importance of collaboration).
It might be semantics, but I don’t think that the employer who posted the job wants an “ego-less” contributor. Who can truly be ego-less? And is that even a useful goal? Taking a deeper look at the description, I’d say the employer is looking someone who can balance humility (always ready to listen, always eager to learn) with a healthy ego (objectively assert oneself).
I read a book recently called Egonomics that describes this balance as “ego equilibrium”. Another useful concept that I pulled from the book is the notion of ideas vs. identity. The concept focuses on keeping ideas—or keeping what you think and believe—separate from your identity—or who you are. When you link the two it can lead to defensiveness, which kills openness and collaboration. Don’t kid yourself. Separating ideas from identity isn’t an easy feat. It takes a great deal of self-awareness and deliberate work not to take feedback personally.
But give it a try the next time your company has a brainstorming session or group meeting. Look at the ideas contributed simply as ideas and don’t attach them to the people who contributed them. You can probably already see how this would keep minds open, and creativity and innovation flowing.
So tell me, what do you think about this idea? I promise I won’t take your input personally.