. . .and it's all about ME! The Dangers of the Me-Centric Leader.

Once I worked with an individual who consistently tried to make themselves the center of the universe.  "I," "me," "my" were essentials in sentences.   Any work accomplished by the team became self-credited to the leader.   Insistently the team was referred to as "My people," until I just wanted to scream, old-testament style "Let MY PEOPLE go!"

Similarly, our president has a knack for making everything about him.    For instance, his comments on foreign diplomats:

"The one that matters is me," Trump continued Thursday night. "I'm the only one that matters because when it comes to it, that's what the policy is going to be. You've seen that, you've seen it strongly."

Or when the individual he endorsed for the Virginia governor's race lost. . .

Gillespie "did not embrace me or what I stand for," Trump tweeted from Asia

Okay.   So here are the problems associated with the Me-Centric leader:

1. The me-centric leader fairly screams:  "Look at me, give me all of your attention, because basically I'm insecure at the core."   No one really wants to follow someone who's insecure.

2.  The me-centric leader effectively sucks all of the air out of the room;     there is no oxygen left for the rest of us.

3.  The me-centric leader disengages the remainder of the workforce.  Translated:  "If it's all about me - then it's not about you - and if it's not about you (or the team) then you cannot have a sense of ownership or responsibility."  Organizationally - this is deadly.

4.  Similarly, the me-centric leader leaves a whole lot of revenue/positive producing opportunity on the table by not including the remainder of the workforce.    Great ideas are seldom the work of one;  often great ideas are the work of many.

5.  The me-centric leader makes all arrows point toward them:   all of the energy is directed inward - there is no outbound energy.   Ultimately that is a dynamic that makes everything and everyone surrounding the me-centric leader wither through a lack of nurturing.

6.  And this is biggest challenge of all - the me-centric leader is living in an unrealistic world.  In our societies - the message and the work has to be about all of us - not one of us.

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My book "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders"  is available on Amazon Kindle.