Overcoming Ego and Embracing Strategic Flexibility
- Matias Felix Ruiz
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier
We have all experienced that nagging feeling of wishing we could turn back time and make a different decision. The moments where hindsight feels like a cruel tutor, forcing us to confront past mistakes that could have been avoided with a simple course correction. Yet, those regrets often linger, like a shadow that doesn’t seem to fade.
We know this all too well. The desire to re-examine choices, recalibrate our strategies, and avoid pitfalls from the past. But there’s a critical question we often avoid: Are we truly learning from these moments, or are we simply repeating the same cycle of regret?
In this post, we are going to explore a concept that can make or break an executive’s career—the delicate balance between ego, learning, and action. We will examine how this interplay impacts decision-making, strategy execution, and ultimately, the trajectory of your organization.
Table of Contents
The Disconnect Between Goals, Strategy, and Action
As an executive, your role requires you to define clear goals, craft a strategy to achieve them, and set up the necessary methods and systems to execute them successfully. However, this process is anything but straightforward. It’s often filled with contradictions, self-doubt, and moments where what should be clear feels completely out of reach.
Why is this so difficult?
The challenge lies in the subtle yet powerful distinction between goals, strategy, and methods. For many executives, the line between these concepts is blurred. The goal is often misinterpreted as the strategy, and the method as the goal.
The Goal: What we want to achieve.
The Strategy: The approach or framework we will use to accomplish the goal.
The Method: The actions we take to implement the strategy.
When these elements aren’t clearly delineated, chaos ensues. Teams get confused. Leaders lose focus. Stakeholders feel misaligned. And worst of all, you, the executive, end up revisiting the same mistakes, over and over.
Here’s the catch: it's not enough to just define these elements; they must be consistently revisited and refined as circumstances change. That means your strategy isn’t static—it’s fluid. The methods you employ today may need reworking tomorrow. Without this adaptability, even the most well-laid plans are destined to fail.
The Ego Trap: Why Leaders Get Stuck in the Cycle
Leadership is inherently tied to ego. We operate from a position of authority and responsibility, which often fosters a sense of pride in our decisions and methods. This pride is, in many cases, a powerful driver of success. But it can also become a stumbling block.
The ego can create blind spots, leading us to cling to outdated ideas or strategies, even when the evidence suggests they no longer serve their purpose. It’s easy to justify these decisions by appealing to past successes or our own intellectual superiority. But this defense mechanism, while comforting, is also limiting.
The Manifestation Zone
The ego becomes most prominent when faced with failure or resistance. Instead of analyzing why a strategy didn’t work, there’s a tendency to shift blame or protect our sense of self-worth.
The Psychological Root
At the core, it’s fear—the fear of being wrong, of losing control, or of admitting that the approach might need to evolve.
Growth Impediment
This fear restricts growth by locking you into a set of methods that no longer align with the changing business environment.
Disruptive Intervention
Confront your ego with discomfort. Seek honest feedback from your team, embrace failure as a learning opportunity, and challenge your own assumptions. Take a step back, reassess, and ask yourself: “What can I do differently?”
The most successful executives know that the real growth comes from confronting their ego and making difficult adjustments. Those who fail to evolve are often those who remain in the cycle of regret.
The Path to Sustainable Success: Learning and Adapting
As we reflect on the earlier question—how many times have we found ourselves stuck in the cycle of regret?—the answer lies not in our mistakes, but in how we handle them. Learning, when done correctly, is a strategy of continuous adaptation.
In a world where disruption is the only constant, adaptability is the key to sustained success. A business strategy that worked five years ago may no longer be effective today. The market, technology, consumer behavior, and even global conditions are always in flux.
So how can you truly break free from the cycle of repeating the same decisions?
Focus on Data-Driven Decisions
Instead of relying on intuition alone, make decisions based on data. Analyzing trends, feedback, and performance metrics can help you adjust your strategy in real-time.
In today’s digital world, the volume of available data is unprecedented. The ability to pull meaningful insights from this data and transform them into actionable strategies can be a game-changer. Executives who harness data effectively can see beyond the surface, identify emerging trends, and course-correct before issues become crises.
Incorporate Constructive Feedback
Regularly seek input from both internal teams and external advisors. A fresh perspective can often reveal blind spots you might have missed.
One of the key lessons we’ve learned over the years is that no one is infallible. If you’re not actively seeking input and feedback, you are likely missing out on valuable insights. Encourage an environment where constructive feedback is seen as a tool for growth, not criticism.
Foster a Culture of Learning
Encourage your organization to view failure as an opportunity for growth. Celebrate those who challenge the status quo, and build an environment where learning from mistakes is the norm.
The most successful companies thrive on innovation and risk-taking. However, these endeavors come with a cost, and those costs often come in the form of failure. If your organization has a culture that punishes failure, you risk stifling innovation. Instead, create a culture that embraces failure as a natural part of the learning process.
Prioritize Agility
Build a flexible strategy that allows your company to pivot quickly in response to changes in the market or business environment. The more agile your company, the less likely it is to become bogged down by past mistakes.
In today’s rapidly changing world, the businesses that succeed are those that can pivot when necessary. Agility allows you to remain relevant, nimble, and responsive to new opportunities and challenges. Without agility, even the best strategies can quickly become outdated.
Why Leadership is About Action, Not Ego
In the end, leadership isn’t about being right all the time. It’s about the ability to learn, adapt, and take action based on new insights. The leaders who are remembered for their success aren’t the ones who were always right—they are the ones who evolved and adjusted their approach in the face of new challenges.
Being an effective leader means understanding that your strategies and methods must constantly evolve. Ego may have served as a protector in the past, but it can no longer be your guide. The true measure of leadership is your ability to learn from mistakes, adapt to new realities, and lead your organization through uncertainty.
Let’s take a look at some practical examples of how action, not ego, has led to success:
Example 1: Netflix’s Pivot from DVDs to Streaming
In the early 2000s, Netflix was a DVD rental company. However, when the company’s leadership saw the rise of online streaming, they pivoted their business model to adapt to the changing landscape. Had they been entrenched in their original vision, they might have become another Blockbuster. Instead, they became a dominant player in entertainment.
Example 2: Apple’s Reinvention under Steve Jobs
After being ousted from Apple, Steve Jobs returned to a struggling company in the late ‘90s. By listening to customer feedback, embracing innovative technologies, and focusing on simplicity, he was able to turn Apple around and make it one of the most valuable companies in the world.
“The person most in control is the person who can give up control.”—Fritz Perls
Conclusion: The Future of Leadership, Overcoming Ego
As we conclude, consider the following: If you could look back on your career today and make one change, what would it be? Would it be a different decision, a more thoughtful strategy, or the willingness to adjust in the face of new evidence?
The future of leadership isn’t about avoiding mistakes—it’s about embracing them and using them as a springboard for growth. In that sense, regret can be a powerful tool, provided we let it drive us toward evolution, not stagnation.
In a world where leaders are often expected to have all the answers, the most successful ones know the true value of humility and adaptability. Leadership is no longer about simply being right—it’s about being resilient, responsive, and committed to continuous improvement.
Wonderful 😊