When Ego Leads, Everyone Loses
- Cristina Stensvaag
- Oct 8, 2025
- 2 min read
The best leaders don’t need to be right, they need to get it right. Drop the ego, lead with clarity.
October 9, 2025
Originally published in One More Rep, our weekly leadership newsletter. 👉 Subscribe here
This month we’re focusing on Ownership & Accountability. Great teams are built on leaders who own outcomes instead of shifting blame. When leaders take responsibility first, accountability becomes a strength.
Read
"Ego clouds and disrupts everything. The ego clouds the truth.”
– Jocko Willink & Leif Babin, Extreme Ownership
In Extreme Ownership, Willink and Babin describe ego as one of the greatest threats to effective leadership. When our ego drives decisions, we stop listening, over-defend our ideas, and take disagreement personally. It clouds judgment and prevents us from seeing the mission clearly.
In leadership, ego can destroy trust, collaboration, and learning. Strong leaders learn to detach: to take a step back from emotion, admit when they’re wrong, and invite better ideas. The goal isn’t to look right; it’s to get it right.
Rep
In your next team discussion, say: “I don’t have the final answer, what do you think?”
Then stop talking.
If no one speaks up, wait. The silence is feedback, your team may still be learning whether it’s safe to disagree. If needed, go first with a small example: “Here’s one idea I’m not sure about…” Showing openness gives others permission to step forward.
Reflect
How does my ego show up in moments when I should be learning instead of defending?
What feedback have I brushed off because it hurt my pride?
How do I react when someone challenges my idea in front of others?
What could change if I valued being curious more than being right?
Leadership without ego is leadership with clarity. When you trade the need to be right for the desire to learn, your whole team wins
