flowcultura blog

Photo by Hulki Okan Tabak on Unsplash

The egotistical leader – much maligned, often parodied (think David Brent in The Office) and arguably a victim of their own success. The kind of behaviour we associate with them aligns with the classic definition of ego, which the Harvard Business Review determines to be “the enemy of good leadership”.

But it’s ok, right? You’re not that kind of leader. Maybe not, but there’s another (psychoanalytical) definition of ego, and this is the kind which influences the behaviour of us all. In Latin, “Ego” translates simply as “I”; it is the mental concept of who you are and forms the lens through which you make sense of the world around you. So yes, ego can create an over-inflated sense of importance in the world, but it can also do just the opposite, depending upon your conditioning.

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One December back when my nephew was 3 years old, he was eager to visit my house to help decorate the Christmas tree. His focus and enthusiasm were enviable; he knew exactly what he was there to do and was satisfied that he had the right equipment to hand. An hour later, he stepped back and declared with a flourish, “that looks BEAUTIFUL!” I looked at the tree - which had no ornaments above his 3ft eyeline - and laughed to myself, committing the moment to memory but also desperate to rearrange the decorations according to my usual precise ornament-to-foliage ratio. I waited, of course, until my nephew had gone home, beaming with pride at his job well done.

I often wonder at what point the self-belief, fearlessness and sheer determination of childhood begin to wane. Even as I type, my mind is like a cutting room floor covered in ideas I dismissed on the grounds that they weren’t good enough, and I don’t think I’m alone in this. It seems to me that self-doubt lurks in our limbic systems, ready to strike when (heaven forbid!) we might dare to feel like we’re doing okay.

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“New year, new me!” has always troubled me as a concept. This notion that the clock strikes midnight on 31^st December and you experience the kind of existential epiphany that catapults you into a life of zen and perfection doesn’t sit well. Jan 1^st might seem like a good day to “start new” (particularly for specific goals like quitting smoking), but research suggests that many New Year’s resolutions fail, so realistically any day of the year has just as much potential. The word “resolution” also carries connotations of finding solutions to problems – do you really want to see your life as a problem to be solved when it could be a work in progress instead?

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“You’re on mute!”

For the 24% of workers in the UK now based at home due to Covid-19 (source: ONS), those three little words encapsulate a new way of life. Spare rooms have been cleared and kitchen islands commandeered, with webcams strategically angled so as not to reveal laundry piles or evidence of DIY endeavours gone wrong.

Photo by Luke Chesser on Unsplash.

It’s understandable to want to avoid the news at the moment, in fact many mental health charities recommend it as a method of self-care.  Chances are though, even if you’ve managed this, the reality of what’s happening to the UK economy and jobs market won’t have escaped your attention.  With 673,000 jobs lost between March and September this year (source: ONS/Independent) and more redundancies likely to take place when the Government’s Job Retention scheme ends, few people’s professional lives remain unaffected by Covid-19.

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It seems to me that way too often, some large-scale scandal or another is splashed across the headlines.  Whether it’s famous sports figures failing drug tests, trusted corporations being caught red-handed cheating the system or our personal data being ’taken, analysed and used’ in ways we never granted permission for… it’s everywhere and it’s got me thinking!

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As a leader you’ve seen and heard enough about the importance of culture.   You’ve made the conscious decision that it’s time to ‘get serious’ about your own culture and be deliberate in how it’s designed and managed. Your objectives are clear.  You want to...