I have an ego. There’s no sense denying it because it comes through pretty clearly to people. My wife and family joke (I think it’s joking) that it’s good the people I work with keep my head from growing to big.
Over the past decade, I’ve worked hard to develop a good working relationship with my ego. I can think clearly of some times where it started running and I ended up saying some things I really shouldn’t have in hindsight. But I can also look back at many more examples where it put me in positions where I succeeded where I wouldn’t have without it.
Much like your experience, knowledge, and relationships, your ego is a tool that you should lean on and learn to use. Leaving it outside the door to the room does no one any good. Knowing when to keep it locked away helps everyone.
Where egos have developed a bad reputation is where people use them to run roughshod over others. People who think they know best and no one else is worthy of an opinion are simply bad people. Blame their ego if you want, but there’s more going on there. Just like unchecked power corrupts, so does an unchecked ego. Managing it is the key.