The power of humility in leadership

The dangers of arrogant leadership

We have all worked with leaders who overestimate their contribution. Or where people steal glory, ideas, and credit grab. Or the person who is not willing to admit mistakes or learn. Or the person who thinks they are “100% right”. Or they are just plain arrogant.

These are not endearing traits for a leader; they damage trust and relationships. It is frustrating for sure. But what is going on here? Positional power can cause leaders to become self-centred, overly obsessed with outcomes and control, and, therefore, treat their employees as means to an end.

As leaders rise through the ranks, they acquire more power. And with that, people are more likely to want to please them. This strokes and feeds the leader’s ego. An egocentric leader does not think about others, they are not curious, they don’t seek different perspectives, and they focus on the needs and desires of themselves.

People in the end just want to get away from people like this! We are all susceptible to something called the egocentric bias. This bias is a cognitive bias that causes people to rely too heavily on their own point of view when they examine events in their life or when they try to see things from other people’s perspectives.

Since we all have an egocentric slant to some degree, we can all benefit from showing more humility.

The power of humility

In a world that is constantly trying to one-up each other, the power of humility is often overlooked. However, research has shown that leaders are more likely to succeed when they display humility.

The APA defines humility as a ‘low focus on the self, an accurate (not over- or underestimated) sense of one’s accomplishments and worth, and an acknowledgment of one’s limitations, imperfections, mistakes, gaps in knowledge, and so on’.

Humility is the ability to see yourself as you are. You recognise your strengths, blind spots and understand your weaknesses and limitations. Now, more than ever, we need humble leaders rather than the arrogant, narcissistic ones.

The traits of humble leaders

Great, humble leaders know they are not invincible. And that they, like all of us, are a work in progress. They don’t need their egos to be stroked (they are very conscious of their ego).

Humble leaders understand that they are not the smartest person in every room. Nor do they need to be. They encourage people to speak up, encourage diversity of thoughts, and embrace feedback. They are in service to others. They quieten their ego.

The benefits of humble leadership

Humble leaders are authentic, willing to make mistakes, listen better, are more curious, have more compassion, demonstrate great accountability, and show vulnerability. All of these traits inspire others to be their best and increase psychological safety.

Humble leaders are accessible and relatable to their teams, which helps create a climate of inclusion. In this kind of climate, leaders inspire great performance.

Conclusion

Leading with humility is not easy. But leading with arrogance and ego is not an attractive trait!

How humble are you?

#Leadership #Humility #TeamInspiration #PsychologicalSafety #InclusiveLeadership

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