Protect and Enhance Self-Esteem

When I co-founded EG some 20-years ago, I promised myself that I would abide by this principle:

“Everyone who joins EG will leave us with higher self-esteem than when they joined us.”

To deliver on this promise, I knew we had to do three things consistently well: (1) make everyone in our team feel safe to be themselves; (2) mentor them into ever higher levels of confidence; and (3) on departure, ensure a gracious and magnanimous exit.

No doubt we failed often, but I can honestly say – that to this day – we strive our utmost to fulfill this promise.

Self-esteem is sacred, powerful and fragile. When you’ve got it, you feel you can achieve anything. When you’ve lost it, it seems impossible to regain.

This is why other people’s self-esteem should be handled with great care. No matter what decision you make as a leader, seek always to protect it and enhance it.