Servant leadership is the best path

I have worked with ego-centric managers who thrive on sycophancy (thankfully the minority of my professional experience) and I learned a lot from them about leadership, in terms of how not to ever be. In each case, while their inner circle revered or feared them, they were never really respected by the majority of people around them. Not surprising, and sadly, in spite of their talent or tireless best efforts, they were never truly the leaders they themselves wanted to be.