In sports, we often hear "He's got a huge ego, but at least he's got the skills and trophies to back it up." Anywhere else, ego won't even have that chance to prove its worth. Why?
“Sport is a sanctuary for ego… for the players. The high-performance practitioners behind the scenes need their egos as much as the players, but instead face the same dysfunction, confusion and conflict as any other high-pressure, high-output workplace.“
Without the ego, there’s no drive, no performance and no reward. No goals, no baskets, no IPOs, no deals close, no victories on the court nor in the courtroom. When the ego does its job well, we go from one ambition and achievement to another. When the ego experiences rewards beyond the ordinary, it drives ambitions beyond the ordinary. Working at that level becomes natural because it feels natural, it feels right - because it is right.
It’s when the ego loses touch with reality that we have conflicts, narcissists, outbursts… what we call Ego F*** Ups. Those are what most people think about when they hear a word that once simply meant “I,” but has become one of the most misunderstood words in the settings where it wields the most influence.
Martin Buchheit and George Perry bring together over 100 of the world’s top high-performance sports practitioners, in addition to their own experiences in the sports industry. They explore the nature, role and importance of ego in the workplace, along with sharing insights into ego's successes and failures behind the scenes of the world's games.
Athlete performance coach, sports businessman and writer. US Navy veteran and law school dropout. Take care of your ego. Sometimes, it's the only friend you've got.
This book won't make you an ego expert (we're not), but it shows a way for anyone in high-performance environments to avoid being a specialist in ego failure.
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