Four Ways To Lead With Humility (How You Lead Matters)
Honest recognition that humility is a necessary characteristic is a great start. Too many of us have accidentally assumed that an arrogant display of "power" is the highest priority in leadership roles.
Let's take a dive into the expression of true humility in leadership and address how it might be the essential trait of effective leadership.
What is Humility?
Humility is an attitude that begins with acknowledging that "we" are not inherently more valuable than anyone else and also that "we" are not inherently less valuable than everyone else.
As a leader, humility demonstrates that this position requires that consideration and intelligent decisions on behalf of myself and others. Not because "I" am more important than everybody else, but because "I "have been entrusted with an honorable form of accountability by everybody else.
A person is considered humble when they admit to personal limitations and are willing to seek wise mentorship and counsel to help understand and balance their blind spots. A humble leader listens to perspectives and opinions that are different than their own.
A humble leader would be someone elected to be in authority of some sort that decides not to use their power to make people do what they want. That leader holds back their dominance over others and instead empowers others.
Nobody arrives onto the dance of life with these qualities fully formed from birth.
Four Ways To Lead With Humility:
Be willing to admit when you are wrong and when you make mistakes.
When you find that you were wrong about something and your actions did not yield the results you expected, you have many choices available to you.
You can choose to blame someone else for not doing their part or accuse someone of sabotaging your work or quietly ignore what happened and hope nobody notices your mistake.
Or, take the humble leader pill by gathering your group and openly telling them that you were wrong and the error was yours. This approach will grant you respect from those you lead and give them the courage to continue trying when they fail or make mistakes.
If you are not the person who deserves the credit, make it clear who else deserves recognition.
It's ego when one wants all the credit alone. Humble leaders like to have their wins noticed and acknowledged while also congratulating and acknowledging their team's role in the success.
Everything we do requires community and teamwork. Make time to acknowledge and cherish those who put effort into you or common goals.
Admit when you do not know how to do something and ask for someone else to teach you.
Accept that people on your team have knowledge and skills for specific operations. Those skills may be better than the ones you possess.
The people who look at you for leadership may have particular experiences that you may not have. You can either pretend you know everything, or you can attempt to learn and understand it all on your own without looking to your team, or you can ask the people who look to you for leadership to teach you.
When you're humble enough to pick that last option, those you lead will appreciate your honesty about your limitations. They will admire your desire to learn from them, and you get the opportunity to let them know that you trust their thoughts, skills, and opinions.
Apologize
When people appoint you to be a leader, humble yourself enough to realize that it's not because they think you will be a perfect one.
At times, you may slip up due to human nature, and someone within the people you lead may end up hurt as a result of your slip up. When you realize you've wronged someone, you could choose to pridefully ignore it or convince yourself that they somehow deserved it.
Or, admit that you overstepped a boundary or miss spoke and apologize sincerely. The wound you created in someone else could end up being the means to forgiveness, empathy, and intimacy as they welcome you back from your mistake and you welcome them back from their wound.
This takes effort; give it because your team and community deserve the highest version of you.
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