Check the ego

Ego clouds judgment, blocks feedback, and turns disagreements into contests.

Why it works

Ego biases information: a leader protecting their self-image discounts inconvenient data and resists correction, degrading decisions exactly when stakes are high. Setting ego aside reopens the flow of bad news upward — the information leaders most need and least often get.

How to do it

1. When you feel defensive, treat it as a signal to ask a question rather than make a case.
2. Actively invite the criticism you least want to hear, then thank the person for it.
3. Separate being right from getting it right — optimize for the second.

Evidence

A practitioner principle that maps onto well-documented cognitive biases — confirmation bias and ego-defensive reasoning — which degrade judgment under threat to self-image. A widely cited review documents confirmation bias as a pervasive, cross-domain tendency to favor information that protects one’s existing view, which is exactly the failure "check the ego" is meant to counter. (mechanistic)

The principle is sound but vague; "check the ego" gives no procedure. The operational version is structured dissent and actively soliciting bad news.

Sources

• Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175–220.

Common mistake

Equating confidence with ego and overcorrecting into indecision — humility is about staying correctable, not about doubting every call.