Ego at the Top: Why Systems Fail
Human arrogance.
Ego.
Insecurity.
That’s what sits at the top of too many institutions.
We’re told systems are “broken” because they’re outdated. The truth is harsher: they’re protected by people who benefit from the status quo or are too insecure to open the door to innovation.
What’s Holding These Institutions Back?
1. Ego-Driven Leadership
Superintendents, executives, and policymakers often surround themselves with “yes people.”
- Question a decision? You’re a “troublemaker.”
- Mistake authority for wisdom? Bad ideas become policy.
- Survival mantra? “To get along, you have to go along.”
When ego drives, outcomes crash.
2. Gatekeeping Innovation
Skilled tradespeople and community mentors are kept out of high-ranking roles—not because they can’t teach or lead, but because leaders fear being outshined.
If someone without the right degree does it better, what does that say about me?
3. Fear of Accountability
Real problems get buried under paperwork, PR spin, and manipulated test scores. Cracks are hidden instead of fixed.
4. Bureaucracy Over Substance
Whole departments exist just to track compliance, not quality. In education especially, teachers spend more time checking boxes than connecting with kids.
Why the Talent Gap Persists
Education reveals the problem in plain sight. Studies show U.S. teachers often come from the lower third of academic performance when compared to professions like medicine, law, or engineering. Why?
- Low Pay: Average salaries hover near $60k—far less than engineers, doctors, or lawyers.
- Low Status: In Finland and Singapore, teaching is prestigious. In the U.S., it’s treated as a fallback.
- High Bureaucracy: Talented candidates aren’t turned off by kids or classrooms—they’re turned off by the system.
This doesn’t mean teachers are “bottom of the barrel.” Many are brilliant, dedicated, and could have chosen more lucrative paths. But the pipeline itself pushes high performers away.
Ego Has No Place in Public Service
In business, ego is costly. In public service, it’s dangerous.
When arrogance runs policy, we get:
- Leaders who ignore workers, teachers, parents, and students.
- Skilled leaders blocked because they lack the “right” titles.
- Innovation silenced to protect fragile hierarchies.
- Systems run for appearances, not outcomes.
Civil service should run on:
- Humility
- Competence
- Accountability
- Service over status
If you want ego and titles, go to Wall Street. If you’re here to serve the public, then serve the public.
The Double Standards
If students need 60% to pass, why don’t school districts?
In Arizona and across the U.S., many districts don’t even hit 60% proficiency in math or reading. By their own grading scale, that’s failure. Yet they get softer labels, political spin, or “adjusted benchmarks.”
And it doesn’t stop at schools. The government oversees banking and credit scores, yet has buried this country in so much debt the outlook is bleak for generations. Leaders massage data instead of admitting failure. Students, and citizens, learn the wrong lesson: appearances matter more than truth.
Taxes feed “pipe dreams,” programs without sustainability. Dependency grows, taxation snowballs, and the cycle repeats.
A Better Way of Grading: Borrow from Industry
Industry already solved the honesty problem with the 4-20 mA current loop, the gold standard for measurement:
- 4 mA = live zero (system is alive, even at zero output).
- 20 mA = full scale (100%).
- Below 4 = fault.
Now imagine grading this way.
- 12 mA = 50%, a true average.
- Below 4 = missing work, flagged immediately.
Transparent. Consistent. No spin.
By those standards, many school systems and politicians wouldn’t just be below average, they’d be in fault status. Missing work, missing honesty, misusing funds.
The Point
The problem isn’t just lack of funding. It’s ego.
Leaders who resist accountability.
Gatekeepers who block innovation.
Systems that reward appearances over results.
We fix it by:
- Decentralizing power.
- Opening leadership to real-world mentors.
- Inspiring and protecting innovation.
- Rebuilding teaching and mentorship as respected professions.
- Holding leaders to the same standards they demand of others.
Until we strip ego out of public service, society will keep spinning its wheels while falling behind.
Egotism builds walls.
Wisdom builds bridges.
If we want systems that truly serve people, we need leaders who choose the latter.
Which kind of leader would you follow?