“There was a time when we believed self-esteem to be the royal road to flourishing…However, later studies showed that increases in self-esteem did little for our happiness or performance, but ample for our egos. Professor Roy Baumeister’s work with self-esteem showed that we’d been raising a generation of narcissists who went on to wreck havoc in their lives and in their workplaces. It now appears that we’d been building the wrong kind of self-esteem — the kind that is contingent on external factors such as social approval, success or attractiveness…However, authentic self-esteem is different. It’s a feeling of worth in our abilities and qualities. As such, its not conditional upon external evaluations — instead its an inner security that provides us with the courage to step out into the world and do the right thing…This is especially important for leaders of today.”
