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Resolving Ego Issues in the Workplace

Tue, Nov 27, 2012

Blog

Work isn’t always as easy or efficient as it could or should be, and sometimes when you’re in charge of running a workplace, you can find yourself dealing with some pretty serious ego issues that can really stand in the way of you getting that good, quality productivity that you so desperately need. One would think that running a business where you employ a group of adults would be an environment where everyone knows how to communicate in a straightforward manner, and individuals can resolve disputes quickly, easily, and respectfully. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, and sometimes running a business requires a pretty serious amount of leadership ability. As the supervisor, manager, or boss of whatever business it is for which you’re responsible, you’ve got to make sure that you’re keeping the office and work environment under control, and this often means contending with egos that can have a tendency to run away with the situation. Sometimes it’s just an unavoidable fact that people act out and let their egos dictate the things they do. This has a tendency to lead to situations that produce drama, conflict, and all-around tension in the workplace. When we let our ego guide our actions, we can cause serious problems, and it might very well be your job to be on the lookout for this sort of thing and nip these problems in the bud so everyone else can get back to doing their jobs. We’ll talk about some of the best ways to neutralize ego issues in the workplace so that you can get back to whatever it is that’s most important to your day.

It can be tough to clearly assess a problem as being ego-related or not, so first we’ll discuss how to tell when an ego is commandeering the situation and causing drama where it doesn’t need to belong. Sometimes we’ll encounter a situation where an employee has a disagreement with another employee, and the issue is being pressed even though logic doesn’t really suggest that it needs to be. When you can see that an employee is pursuing something despite the fact that it’s not entirely necessary or beneficial to the most amount of people, you can bet that you’re dealing with an issue of the ego.

Compromise is your best friend when ego-related issues are involved, as it can be smartest to simply give everyone what they want so that all parties feel equally respected. If the problem is ego-related to begin with, it might be tough to get logic to take hold, so as the mediator you might have to rise above the issue and make sure both parties feel like they’re getting what they want. There are a lot of ways to handle issues of the ego when you’re responsible for a workplace, and unfortunately they’re something of a relatively common experience. Now you know, though, that it’s not impossible to soothe a cranky ego so that everyone around can get back to work.

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