Weekly Poll #4:
Ego Management: Goodness for the Sake of Whom?
It appears as if the post reflecting on the nature of ego in social entrepreneurship got more than a few people thinking this week. Before we finish that series later with Part 2, I was curious to see if we had people honest enough to participate in a very simple survey – to find out how much of our do-good activity is truly for the poor, the disadvantage, or the helpless planet vs. for what one commenter called “#1″, “Numero Uno” (ourselves).
As discussed in the article, it seems that when people get involved in this whole ego conversation it tends to result from the fact that there are two schools of thought around this whole “ego in social impact” business. In the first camp, people care only about the results, the accomplishments themselves. In the second camp, people care not just about the results but also about why someone is doing something. In this specific instance, some of us can get very annoyed or upset when we realize that a do-gooder like a social entrepreneur has a proven strong motivation for attaining fame, recognition and a sense of “achievement” instead of bearing the “good of others” as her first reason. Others, on the other hand, could not care less what kind of person does the work, as long as the mouths are fed, the homeless sheltered, and the homes rebuilt.
No matter in which camp you fall, this week’s poll is about finding out if anyone would ever admit to being more driven for an inner sense of accomplishment and pride in oneself instead of the purely charitable motive. While some people would be aghast to assume anyone would ever NOT do it for the noble purpose, others roll their eyes about those so “naive” to believe that we could really do something just for the benefit of others. Sorry, if the answers do not leave much wiggle room this time (smirk)!
Results are immediately visible as you click!
As always, please do feel free to share any suggestions for future polls you may find interesting to learn more about your fellow Good Generation comrades and their views on various topics. I’d be happy to pick up on some of these ideas in the future.
