Gandhi had an ego so did Martin Luther King. It's a tool that can be dangerous and easily abused but it is not inherently bad. "Check your ego, just don't kill it" I like that. I think you can watch it and see how it behaves. If you meditate it's easier to see. Emotions and thought patterns appear and you begin to see how reactive and unconscious a lot of your actions, thoughts, and feelings are. From there you can start to steer your ego to work for you rather against you.