The real leadership risk

Ego isn't the problem; unconscious leadership is, opines Christie Garcia, founder and Ego Management expert, Mindful Choice and author, Your Ego is Showing: How Ego Management Unlocks Authentic Confidence & Meaningful Success.

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In leadership discussions, few concepts are as misunderstood—or as casually misused—as the Ego. It is often framed as the root cause of dysfunction: the source of arrogance, conflict, insecurity, and poor decision-making. Leaders are encouraged to suppress it, transcend it, or eliminate it altogether.

This framing is not only inaccurate; it is counterproductive.

The ego is not the problem. Unconscious leadership is.

Ego is a normal, necessary function of the human mind. It is the part of our psychological wiring that helps us protect identity, seek belonging, manage uncertainty, and navigate risk. In high-pressure environments—which define most modern organisations—ego is not an anomaly. It is the default operating system.

The real challenge for leaders and organisations is not the ego itself, but the ego operating without awareness.

The cost of misunderstanding ego

Most leadership failures are not the result of poor intentions or lack of competence. They arise from unconscious reactions under stress—moments when leaders respond automatically rather than intentionally.

This is where the ego operates most powerfully.

Under pressure, ego-driven behaviour shows up as:

• Over-control disguised as decisiveness

• Avoidance framed as harmony

• People-pleasing is mistaken for empathy

• Emotional withdrawal interpreted as professionalism

These behaviours are rarely recognised as ego-driven because they often appear socially acceptable or even rewarded in organisational cultures. Yet over time, they erode trust, slow decision-making, decrease innovation, and create misalignment between intention and impact.

The issue is not the ego; it is the ego left unmanaged.

Myth 1: Ego is a character flaw