ABSTRACT
The boom-time economic environment, fuelled by the effects of globalisation, accelerated deregulation and the advent of new technology, proved to be an extremely fertile breeding ground for the monster ego. As newsrooms rang with tales of greed, deception and megalomania in once mighty corporations such as Enron and WorldCom, the charismatic ‘big ego’ managers and leaders started to look just like the rest of us: mortal. Harvard professor Rakesh Khurana describes how the bulldozer behaviour of big ego leaders creates a ‘yes man’ culture that can be detrimental to organisations: Charismatic authority, by its very nature, discourages criticism. Other business pundits join Khurana in sounding the death knell on big ego leadership. The big ego leader is well and truly an endangered species. Khurana, although himself critical of the excesses big ego leadership can bring, is equally worried when it comes to our infatuation with the more humble, ethical CEO.
