When you’ve reached a certain level in your career, or have been in the same field for a long time, it’s easy to become overconfident and think that you know exactly the way things should be done.  This, however, is a dangerous place to be.  Not only will you get lazy in your approach to innovation, but you’ll also be prone to an out-of-control ego that renders you difficult to work with and results in serious mistakes.  The Leadership Blog recommends the book Ego Check in order to keep yourself from reaching this point.  Some key questions the author, Mathew Hayward, recommends that you ask:

·         Am I getting the right input into this decision? Finding and working effectively with the right foils is a critical way of managing one’s pride and, therefore, of curbing false confidence and hubris. The right foils know when to tell us when we are wrong, and they enable us to step back, step in, and step aside.  The key to real and lasting success is to have the right relationships with a number of trusted managers.

·         Am I seeing, seeking, using, and sharing material feedback? Are we kidding ourselves about our situation? The key is to get and use the best available feedback.

Just this week, my husband read an article in Sports Illustrated about James Dolan, the owner of Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks and the CEO of Cablevision, who sounds like he's imploding as a result of an ego run amuck.  No matter how senior or experienced you are, you should always be in a learning frame of mind.  Our society is in the business of changing very quickly, and even if you know your work backwards and forwards, there’s a new approach around the corner that could quickly displace methods you’ve come to rely on as gospel. Encourage a culture of collaboration, for a “my way or the highway” management style is sure to alienate colleagues and put your organization at a disadvantage related to competitors who are able to see the forest from the trees.