Servant Leadership and the Benevolent Ego

Contemporary leadership literature suggests that the ego is unhelpful for effective leadership and has received much bad publicity in recent years. This chapter describes the historical context of leadership and the emerging new narrative around complexity thinking. The authors discuss servant leadership within the context of their research (Olivier et al., Ego, eco and intuitive leadership. A new logic for disruptive times. Hult International Business School, 2019) on a new leadership logic required to thrive in complex organizational systems. The new logic defines leadership as a “distributed process” enabled by the interdependent functioning of three fundamental intelligences or sense making mechanisms: Sensing (divergent processes – Intuitive Intelligence), Integrating (emergent processes – Eco intelligence), and Shaping (convergent processes – Ego intelligence). The mature or benevolent ego is positioned as the “shaper,” an important ingredient in the process of leadership. The mature ego brings a clear sense of identity for individual leaders but also a “collective ego identity” for a team, organization, or even a nation. It helps to create boundaries, make clear decisions, and mobilize resources to get them implemented. Sadly, many leaders’ egos get stuck within the shifting sands of unprocessed needs like security, belonging, or self-esteem. A trapped or stuck ego can become very demanding because of its “neediness” and when that happens leaders want and demand to be served instead of serving others. In order to harness the power of the benevolent ego, leaders need to develop their ego maturity. Ego maturity implies the capacity to be aware of the dualities and paradoxes within us and to integrate the light and dark aspects – the yin and the yang in what psychologist Karl Jung referred to as the process of “individuation.” In this chapter, the authors draw on the ego development theories (EDT) to show how this process of ego maturation and the experience of “crucible moments” are helpful to creating powerful servant leadership.