EGO vs. EQ

Jen Shirkani's EGO vs. EQ examines leadership habits that can undermine effectiveness. The publisher-authorized contents identify concerns such as rejecting unwelcome feedback, holding too tightly to control, losing touch with frontline experience, and overlooking one's effect on others. [1] Its central challenge is to judge leadership through its consequences, not through the leader's intentions alone.

The framework is useful because success can reduce access to honest information. People may soften criticism, anticipate preferences, or stop offering alternatives. A capable leader can therefore become less informed precisely when greater responsibility makes accurate feedback more important. Technical competence does not remove that risk.

The caution is that emotional intelligence should not become another flattering label or informal diagnosis. A manager cannot infer a colleague's inner state with certainty. Feedback also needs a fair process; vague requests for honesty are insufficient when dissent has previously carried a cost. Readers should look for changed behavior and better working conditions rather than merely a higher self-rating.

Best for: supervisors, business owners, and anyone whose decisions significantly affect other people's daily work.

Seven-day value and service blueprint

Ask two trusted colleagues for one specific example of a behavior you could improve. Request descriptions of what happened and its effect, rather than personality judgments. Choose one change and explain how you will practice it. Use private notes and a scheduled follow-up. The observable benefit is whether the colleagues notice a useful difference by the end of the week. Thank them without demanding reassurance. Protect confidentiality and avoid seeking feedback from someone who cannot safely decline.

Discuss: What information might your position or reputation prevent people from telling you?

Source-based editorial review with original applications; full text not supplied.