EGO IS THE MOTHER OF GROUPTHINK

Most leaders think leadership means having the answers.

They want to be the smartest person in the room.

That is where the problem starts.

When a leader dominates the conversation, the team goes quiet. People stop thinking. They start agreeing.

Not because they believe it. Because it is safer.

That is how groupthink forms.

General Martin Dempsey understood this. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he operated in a complex environment where no single person had all the answers.

He did not demand agreement.

He demanded challenge.

He built a culture where subordinates were expected to question assumptions. Where ideas mattered more than rank. Where the best answer won, regardless of where it came from.

That is how you stay sharp.

If your team is not challenging you, you are not leading them. You are controlling them.

And control without truth leads to failure.

I have seen critical details come from the lowest level in the room. I have also seen strong ideas die because someone higher up was too proud to listen.

That is the cost of ego.

Your job is not to be right.

Your job is to get it right.

If everyone sounds like you, you are not building a team.

You are talking to yourself.