The word “leader” most often calls to mind “strong” attributes like decisiveness, intelligence, and grace under pressure.
Far less discussed as an indispensable trait of excellent leaders is humility. Yet it should be, because many great leaders possess it. Those who wish to follow them would do well to emulate their example.
Take prominent figures like David Miscavige, leader of the Scientology religion. Mr. Miscavige’s humility is consistently remarked upon by those who know him well — despite his considerable professional achievements over the years.
Mr. Miscavige’s example is only one of many. Look deeper, and you’ll realize that humility is a trait shared by so many great leaders because it is one of the most important components of their leadership ability. They’d be less without it.
If that’s not enough to convince you that humility and success are closely intertwined, consider the following. You’ll be grateful you did.
Article Contents
Humble People Tend to Have More Empathy
Having sympathy for others is very different from, and more difficult than, truly seeing yourself in them.
Compared with sympathy, “empathy is more a sense that we can truly understand, relate to, or imagine the depth of another person’s emotional state or situation,” explains Mike Robbins, a life coach.
Empathy is more challenging to conjure when you have an inflated sense of self, or a tendency to see others’ actions and perhaps their very existence through the prism of your own.
To be empathetic in practice, we must step outside ourselves and remember that we are not always the “main character” in the story of the world. We must, in other words, be humble.
Humility Helps Us See the Other Side of an Argument
Humble people are more willing to consider ideas or arguments that cut against what they believe to be true.
This isn’t to say that their convictions are any weaker than the more egotistical among us, only that they’re less rigid, dogmatic or self-righteous in their thinking.
This willingness to consider opposing viewpoints serves humble people well throughout life, in a variety of settings and scenarios. It is of particular importance in situations where collaboration is necessary.
It goes without saying that people who are willing to consider other perspectives work better in groups than those for whom it’s “my way or the highway.”
We’re More Receptive to New Information When We’re Humble
Being willing to see all sides of an argument necessarily requires receptiveness to new information, unwelcome though it may be.
Absorbing new information is not always an easy or natural-feeling process, and it tends to get more challenging as we age.
It may help to think of receptiveness to new information as a form of harm reduction. If your life improves in some measurable way because you’ve learned to do something differently (and better) than you have in the past, this is a “win” worth celebrating.
Humble People Tend to Be Lifelong Learners
If humble people are more receptive to new information, and if they continue this practice as they advance in age, it follows that they’ve set themselves up to be lifelong learners.
And the science is increasingly clear that lifelong learners live happier, more fulfilling and more productive lives.
“Learning new things can help boost self-confidence and self-esteem, and improve memory and cognitive function,” says Ryan McGrath, a U.S.-based executive and business coach.
That’s important because about 65% of Americans experience some form of cognitive impairment by the time they reach 70, according to a recent study.
Committing to lifelong learning doesn’t make you immune from the inevitability of aging, of course, but it could prolong your most productive years — when you’re also most likely to ascend into executive leadership.
Humility and Gratitude Are Closely Related
Effective leaders have a way of showing their appreciation for their subordinates, and not just their direct lieutenants.
Gratitude is an important leadership practice not only because it helps ground those in charge in the realities of their followers’ lives but because it resonates with their followers.
Gratitude is humanizing, in other words. That means it’s all the more important for leaders of large, diverse organizations where they can’t possibly connect individually with every employee.
Others Appreciate Humility
Direct observation tells us, unfortunately, that it’s not always the nice guys who finish first.
Luck plays a significant role in material success, as do networking ability and all sorts of other factors that have little if anything to do with how well-liked we are.
That said, it tends to be the case that humble people attract more “positive respect” than self-aggrandizing individuals.
Humble people tend to be respected for how they comport themselves and how they treat others rather than out of any sense of obligation.
Don’t underestimate how important this distinction can be in a formal organizational hierarchy: It could mean the difference between steadily rising through the ranks and stagnating somewhere in the middle.
Stay Grounded and Prosper
Of the many ingredients to professional and personal success, humility may be the most underappreciated.
It’s not that it’s difficult to see that humility benefits those who practice it. Surely, this is evident in those you most wish to emulate in your own conduct.
Rather, it’s that historical ideals of leadership rarely emphasize “softer” traits like humility — or self-discipline, for that matter.
We are trained to see leaders as those who take bold action, often on gut instinct rather than analytic reasoning, and calibrate our expectations to match.
It can be challenging to break out of this line of thinking, but it’s important to try. Seeing the value of humility in the greatest among us can also help us see it in the least among us, and to appreciate the value of staying grounded in our own lives.
