The power of humility

THE POWER OF
HUMILITY
Leading With Humility

Why humility?
• Jim Collin’s “Level 5 leaders” are humble,
but iron willed, ambitious for the
organization but not necessarily for
themselves (Hayes & Comer, 2010, p.3)
• Stone & Patterson’s (2005) research
revealed that humility is one of the
behaviors of the servant leader, which
they describe as: “A humble means for
affecting follower behavior.”

Humility through the ages
Shedd says, “One of the most difficult
challenges for any leader is to remain
humble in light of the success that the
leader has achieved.”
Bill Gates said: “Success is a lousy teacher.
It seduces people into thinking they cannot
lose.”
Shedd, D. (2011). David Shedd’s blog. Business Insider, April 1, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com

Marshall Goldsmith in What Got You Here Won’t Get You
There, defines 21 stupid things that leaders need to stop
doing now. The root cause of virtually all of these
behaviors is the ego of the leader.
1. The ego that tells the leader that he knows everything
and is always right.
2. The ego that tells the leader that she is better than the
others who are subordinate.
3. The ego that tells the leaders that he does not need to
play by the rules.
Shedd, David (2011). David Shedd’s blog. Business Insider, April 1, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com

The question of humility has been a
leadership issue through the ages:
• Ancient China: “The great leader speaks
little. He works without self-interest and
leaves no trace. When all is finished, the
people say: ‘we did it ourselves.’”
~ Lao Tzu

• Ancient Greece: The Ancient Greeks had
a word for the loss of humility and the
triumph of the ego: hubris. Hubris is the
outrageous arrogance where a person in
power overestimates his or her own
competence and capabilities, gradually
loses touch with reality and (in Greek
tragedies) succumbs to a tragic fall.

• Ancient Rome: “To conquer one’s spirit,
abandon anger, and be modest in victory .
. . Whoever can do this I compare not to
the greatest of men but to a god.”
~Cicero

• Mongol World around 1200: “The key to
leadership is self-control: primarily, the
mastery of pride, which is more difficult to
subdue than a wild lion.”
~Genghis Khan

• Louis XIV France: “Louis’s greatest gift
was to maintain his quality of common
sense in the midst of constant flattery.
Throughout, the king demanded respect
and obedience, not flattery.”
~Louis XIV biographer, Olivier Bernier

• 18th Century Austria: To keep herself
humble and ensure that she did what was
right and best for Austria-Hungarian
Empire, the Archduchess Maria Teresa
employed one advisor as her official critic.
It was the formal job of Emmanuel Count
Sylva-Tarouca to tell Maria Teresa all of
her mistakes.

• 20th Century America: “To possess self-
confidence and humility at the same time
is called maturity.”
~Jack Welch

Conclusion:
As a leader, your success comes about
from the success of others. Maintaining
humility allows you to better keep your
focus where it needs to be, directed
outwards towards your team and your
customers.

Ken Blanchard
“People with humility do not think less of
themselves; they just think about
themselves less.”

Leadership Quality: Humility
Kenneth Boa in “Leadership Qualities: Humility”
It’s humbling to recognize that God is more
responsible for the achievements of our lives
than we are, that we are people who have been
given our abilities, time and opportunities.
These things are not our possession; they are
gifts from God and we will ultimately give an
account for what we do with what we have been
given.

Jim Collins
The most powerfully transformative
executives possess a paradoxical mixture
of personal humility and professional will.
They are timid and ferocious. Shy and
fearless. They are rare—and unstoppable.
Collins, Jim (2001, Jan.). Level 5 leadership: The triumph of humility and fierce resolve.
Harvard Business Review (Reprint).

Jim Collins
The Yin and Yang of Level 5 Leadership
PERSONAL HUMILITY PROFESSIONAL WILL
Demonstrates a compelling modesty, shunning
public adulation; never boastful.
Creates superb results, a clear
catalyst in transition from good to great.
Acts with quiet, calm determination; relies
principally on inspired standards not
inspiring charisma, to motivate.
Demonstrates unwavering resolve
to do whatever must be done to produce
the best long-term results, no matter how difficult.
Channels ambition into company, not the self;
sets up successors for even more
greatness in the next generation.
Sets the standard
of building an enduring great
company; will settle for nothing less.
Looks in the mirror, not out the window, to
apportion responsibility for poor results,
never blaming other people,
External factors or bad luck.
Looks out the window,
not in the mirror, to apportion credit
for success of the company—to other
people, external factors, and good luck.
Collins, Jim (2001, Jan.). Level 5 leadership: The triumph of humility and fierce resolve.
Harvard Business Review (Reprint).

The Payoff of Humble Leadership
Armour lists the following 8 dividends of
humble leadership:
1. Humility lets us dismiss concerns about
being the center of attention, so that we
can step aside and let others shine.
People don’t tent to trust people who
insist on taking all the credit or hogging
the spotlight.
Armour, Mike (2007). Humility an leadership: No laughing matter. LeaderPerfect
Newsletter, Aug. 15, 2007. Retrieved from http://leaderperfect.com/newsletter

2. Humility leaves us open to what others
can teach us, no matter what their station
in life. As a result we learn and develop
wisdom more quickly, because we let
everyone be our mentor.
Armour, M. (2007). Humility an leadership: No laughing matter. LeaderPerfect

3. Humility lets us treat even difficult people
with such respect that we help them feel
worthwhile. People do not typically invest
their trust in someone who makes them
feel invisible or insignificant.
Armour, M. (2007). Humility an leadership: No laughing matter. LeaderPerfect

4. Humility preserves a spirit of gratitude. A
spirit of gratitude does more than perhaps
any other character trait to keep our outlook
on life positive and healthy. Sensing this,
people are unlikely to put great trust in a
leader who is ungrateful, for (unconsciously,
at least) they realize that ingratitude is a sign
of other character flaws.

5. Humility allows us to confront our own
failings and take valuable lessons from
them. Nothing is more harmful to trust
than a leader who lives in denial or who
never learns from things done poorly.

6. Humility allows us to be more patient with
those who are still learning and thus
prone to mistakes. We see in them a
reflection of our own need to learn and
improve. Appropriate patience is critical
in building trust, for impatience breeds
anxiety and even fear among those we
lead, the very antithesis of trust.

7. Humility makes us approachable and
receptive to being held accountable.
Leaders who hold others accountable
must be open and willing to be held
accountable themselves. Otherwise, a
double standard is at work that is inimical
to trust.

8. Humility keeps our curiosity alive. Aware
of how much we don’t know, recognizing
that we have our own pattern of blind
spots, we are eager to explore and learn.
After all, people don’t normally trust
“know-it-alls.”

Start With Humility
What Humility Is…
• Humanness
• Vulnerability
• Ability to keep one’s
accomplishments in
perspective
• The soil that grows
effective leaders
What Humility Is Not…
• Not weakness
• Not lack of confidence
• Not low self-esteem
• Not absence of ego
• Not a lack of
assertiveness, ambition,
or speaking out

The Humility Dynamic
Humanness/
Authenticity
Humble
Behavior
Trust and
Respect
Inspired
Followers+ =Results
in

Biblical Humility and Leadership
1 Kings 21:27-29, NKJV
27 So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that
he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his
body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went
about mourning.
28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the
Tishbite, saying, 29 "See how Ahab has humbled
himself before Me? Because he has humbled
himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in
his days. In the days of his son I will bring the
calamity on his house."

Pride Vs Humility
Prov 29:23, NKJV
23 A man's pride will bring him low,
But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

Pride and Humility
James 4:6, NKJV
6 …"God resists the proud, but gives grace
to the humble.“
James 4:10
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the
Lord, and He will lift you up.

The power of humility

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