Check your EGO

You have the team assembled. You have pose the question with the hope that all will share their ideas and thoughts to arrive at a strong solution. Then…the meeting falls apart. Later, as you analyze what went wrong, you realize that someone (possibly you) let ego get in the way.

That happens more times than you might suspect. Yes, even in Christian ministries and organizations. It even happens in the home with the family. How can we get a handle on the ego in order to serve the Lord faithfully and successfully?

I like Ken Blanchard’s definitions for ego that I saw in his book, Lead Like Jesus. He gives two possible definitions for ego, taking the word as an acrostic. First…

• EGO can stand for Edge God Out

That’s what happens when we look to our own wisdom and our own preferences above all others. It usually means we don’t even give weight to anyone else’s good ideas. Blanchard says it leads to three potential problems, especially in the collaboration process.

1. It fosters isolation that leads to separation.
2. It causes harmful comparisons that lead to either arrogance or anxiety.
3. It distorts the truth, making things look either more or less important than they really are.

But here’s the positive definition for ego that Blanchard offers.

• EGO can also mean Exalt God Only

When we put the Lord first and look to Him for solutions…when we pray sincerely to the ultimate problem solver…something quite different happens in our meeting and discussions.

• Humility replaces pride. Collaboration will succeed when we’re open to God providing answers and ideas from any avenue He chooses, and acknowledging our role versus His role.
• God-grounded confidence replaces fear. Collaboration will succeed when each member of the team has the courage to do what’s right in the sight of God (even if appears difficult to do), bringing honor to Him.

To bring this home, at your next meeting, why not make two sets of name tags?

One set says simply, Edge God Out.

The other ones say Exalt God Only.

Ask those in the meeting to choose which tag they want to wear…and have them put that one on. Then, each time a person looks at another person in the discussion, they are reminded of what is most important to them in the collaboration. If you do this, I would love to hear back from you to let me know what happens.

[blockquote author=”Psalm 118:28″ link=”” target=”_blank”]You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.[/blockquote]