It's very important in a leadership role not to place your ego at the foreground and not to judge everything in relationship to how your ego is fed.
Interpretation
Effective leadership requires prioritizing the team and mission over personal ego.
In her quote, Ruth J. Simmons emphasizes the need for leaders to set aside their personal ego and avoid making decisions based solely on their desire for validation or pride. This approach fosters a more collaborative and constructive environment, ensuring that leadership is focused on the collective goals rather than individual gain, which ultimately leads to better outcomes for the team and organization.
In practice
In a team meeting while discussing strategies, you could quote this to emphasize the importance of putting aside personal interests for the team's success.
When team members openly and passionately share their opinions about a decision, they don't wonder whether anyone is holding back. Then, when the leader has to step in and make a decision because there is no easy consensus, team members will accept that decision because they know that their ideas were heard and considered.
As a manager the important thing is not what happens when you are there, but what happens when you are not there
The purpose of getting power is to be able to give it away.
In times of uncertainty, employees crave clarity. As a leader, you won't always have all of the answers - no one expects you to - so you must be open to listening and learning from others. Once you understand a particular challenge and outline the options, you have to be confident in making bold and optimistic decisions.
You can easily separate 'team guys' from 'me guys' by how they accept coaching. The guys that accept it are about winning
The work of a team should always embrace a great player, but the great player must always work.
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