`His ego was too big for performing that menial task` is a statement that most of us have heard in one form or another. Whole schools of Eastern thought are focusing on the destruction of the personal ego. Yet, the ego has a function as well when we grow up. In addition, ego can contribute to a great creating force – as it can contribute to destruction.

Most observers I read (sorry for the cultural bias) depict Mr. Putin as having a large ego and Mahatma Gandhi as having a small one. In business however, ‘we’ value ego to the extent that usually it is needed by leaders to help drive an organization, yet ‘we’ value especially the leaders who are ‘not big enough’ to do small menial tasks. The perfect example being Walt Disney, who apparently would expect his top brass to also pick up litter when they walked through Disneyland Park. On the other hand, a total destruction of ego might lead to complacency and be quite unhandy in the next negotiation with a business partner.

Our Western world is focused on growing as a positive phenomenon, and a view of the ego that could grow ever more so that it could easily endure the ‘setback of humiliation’ might be more fitting this Western cultural setting.

Therefore, would it be a better expression of the typical Western culture to use the following phrase: “His ego was large enough that he could perform this menial task”?