Ego-driven leadership leads to burnout and breakdown, warns our health and wellbeing correspondent, Andrew Horn. These top five tips will help managers lead with purpose – not pretence

In business, we’re often encouraged to “build our personal brand”, stand out from the crowd, and take credit for our work. But there’s a fine line between confidence and ego — and when leaders cross it, teams suffer.

Ego-driven leadership is characterised by dominance and a distinct lack of empathy. In such environments, decreased productivity, high staff turnover, and diminished employee well-being are common results.

So losing the ego’s no bad thing. If there’s one sobering stat to immediately start puncturing that inflated self-worth, it’s this: According to a 2024 report by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), only 27% of UK employees describe their managers as highly effective.

Ouch!

Thankfully, Hindu philosophy provides all we need to get our feet back on the ground and become more effective leaders.

There’s a powerful concept that can help us rethink leadership from the inside out. It’s called aham-kara — the false ego. In Sanskrit, aham means “I” and kara means “maker”. Together, aham-kara refers to the identity we create around ourselves — a self-image often shaped by job titles, public recognition and status.

Titles such as ‘CEO’, ‘director’, or ‘founder’ may reflect real achievements, but if we mistake them for our true self, problems arise.

Letting go of these constructs doesn’t make you weak. It makes you wise.

The Bhagavat Purana, a central Hindu text, describes this false ego as a product of illusion — maya. Becoming too attached to such identities leads to moha, or delusion. And when delusion governs leadership, we disconnect from reality — and from the people we lead.

But it goes deeper. Aham-kara skews our judgment and poisons team culture. When we see ourselves as the centre of everything, trust erodes and collaboration breaks down.

Ancient Hindu texts offer a different way to lead — one grounded in service rather than self-promotion. They describe the true self — atma — as inherently connected to others and naturally inclined to serve.

That doesn’t mean becoming passive. It means acting in harmony with our nature and our responsibilities — our dharma — while recognising our place within a larger whole.

One vivid metaphor comes from the Bhagavata Purana: to nourish a tree, you don’t water every leaf — you water the root.

In the same way, when we nourish our spiritual centre, everything around us thrives. This shift in perspective can transform how we lead — from control to connection.

There’s also a practical wisdom in these teachings. No matter your title or net worth, there’s only so much satisfaction to be found in status. True satisfaction — “saukhyam anantam” — lies in something more profound: the peace and clarity that come from showing up and leading with purpose, not pretence.

You don’t need to become a monk or retreat to the mountains to achieve this. You can start where you are and it begins with simple choices (which soon add up).

Here are five ways to put these ego-checking insights into action:

1. Listen more than you speak. Ego often rushes to answer. Real leadership listens first.

2. Share the spotlight. Recognise others’ contributions openly. It builds trust and team strength.

3. Check your motives. Ask yourself: am I doing this to serve, or to be seen?

4. Celebrate progress, not perfection. Let go of the need to always be right or polished.

5. Reconnect with the bigger picture. Remind yourself regularly: you’re part of a whole, not the whole itself.

Author Andrew Horn, the son of the great neuroscientist Sir Gabriel Horn and grandson of the socialist peer Baron Soper, is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading experts on traditional Indian and Sanskrit drama whose English translation of the epic 16th-Century Vidagdha Madhava by Rupa Goswami is considered the most accurate ever published. Despite his notable lineage, Andrew chose a different path, becoming a Hare Krishna monk for 20 years. During this time, he was given the name ‘Arjundas Adhikari’, signifying devotion to the hero Arjuna from the Mahabharata. He also appeared on Top of the Pops with Boy George for the singer’s 1991 hit, Bow Down Mister.