Few spheres of human activity are more driven by “results” than the world of business. Visible success is the coin of the realm, and confidence, bravado, even self-aggrandizement are pervasive. Humility, then, stands as a somewhat counter-intuitive characteristic of truly outstanding leaders.
Humility is certainly one of the more nuanced facets of leadership. In part, this has to do with the hierarchical structure of modern management. By definition, leaders have been placed above their employees in terms of decision-making and responsibility. What, then, does humility look like for someone who necessarily oversees others?
Humility concerns the way leaders approach their employees—the tone they take, the interactions they carry on, and so forth. But it also has to do with the way they approach themselves. In this respect, humility implies an open and forthright acknowledgement of one’s own limitations, shortcomings, and weaknesses.
Such acknowledgement involves taking responsibility for the challenges that are known to us. This includes both those deficiencies that frustrate and annoy us, and those that we have implicitly adopted as our “pet” vices.
But humility also demands an acknowledgement that all of us have other shortcomings lying just below the surface of our conscious awareness. It calls for acceptance of the fact that we all fail in ways we don’t realize and in areas we might not expect.
Humility is crucial to leadership and organizational development because only by acknowledging the need for improvement can that improvement actually be achieved. If we are convinced the problem lies elsewhere—in the staff, the union, the marketplace, or countless other sources—we will never become anything more than what we are right now.
In terms of the discipline of reflective leadership, humility implies acceptance of the reality that problems often emanate as much from us as they do from anyone else. Our views, choices, and actions lie at root of countless daily challenges. The problem, all too often, is not “out there.” It’s “in here.”
Humility also prompts us to keep searching for increasingly constructive and productive approaches. For humility, at its highest, involves not just correcting deficiencies, but actively searching for ways to improve.
Eliminating negatives builds good organizations. Cultivating positives—realizing there is always room for our own growth—builds outstanding ones.