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Reining In Your Ego This week's trek is inspired by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter's research on the egoless leader. Ever thought of yourself as a big deal?  You aren't alone. Whether it is through Instagram, Twitter, or your role at work, many opportunities exist these days to reinforce how amazing/capable/brilliant you are. When it comes to working with others, though, focusing solely on yourself is not the way to win. In fact, through a survey with 30K leaders Hougaard and Carter discovered that compassion for others was one of the most important traits a successful leader should possess. Your Reining in the Ego Exercise What It Is A 10-minute exercise to bring more compassion and understanding to others. Why We Love It  We spend a lot of time thinking about ourselves - how we can nail that presentation, win that quarterly award, or show everyone around us how smart/fabulous/right we are. While all of that is gloriously self-serving, no person wants to follow someone who is only in the game for themselves. This exercise helps you focus more on others and how you, as a leader, can better serve them. How It Works 1. Set aside five minutes right before your next meeting with a coworker, direct report, client, or your child. (We know it's probably not a meeting if it's with your kid, but we've heard it still works!) 2. Start off by closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths to clear your thoughts. Then, ask yourself: - Who am I meeting with next? - What matters to them?  - What challenges does s/he have that I can help with? 3. Make a commitment to bring this new perspective to your meeting. Then, use it to provide this person with one thing that will better support his/her needs. 4. After your meeting, take a few minutes to reflect on how things went. Were you able to create a new connection with this person? Do you have a better understanding of who they are and how you can help them? Want to dig deeper into this topic? To hear more from Hougaard and Carter about their research and how they structure this exercise, check out this podcast. To hear John Mackey's take on the value of emotional intelligence, watch this video. To learn more about why emotional intelligence is important for success, check this out from FastCo.  Shout. It. Out. To Erin Hersey for her next-level exercise crafting skills! Shout. It. Back. To treks@lifetrekkers.me if you have praise or gripes about this trek or random thoughts about Life Trekkers. Here's what your fellow trekkers have to say about past treks: "When I started envy advantage I didn't realize how much envy was sapping positive energy in my life. The easy exercise offered a moment for powerful reflection that would have otherwise been unattended to." - Ian Manheimer, VP Strategy @ TCN Tweet Tweet Email Us Learn More Copyright © 2018 LifeTrekkers, All rights reserved. Want more information? Drop us a line at info@trekkers.me. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list.