Hi Andrea,

I loved reading your post about intellectual humility. Wow- what an interesting and innovative concept! Studies have revealed “humility: It’s not a quality that is cited or celebrated much in leaders. The leaders we hear about in the business world are often colorful characters with strong opinions and bucket loads of charisma such as Space X’s Elon Musk, Richard Branson of Virgin and the late founder of Apple, Steve Jobs. But humility is an underrated leadership quality. Humility is the psychological opposite of narcissism, remarks Dr. Robert Hogan, founder and president of Hogan Assessments. Substantial research shows that humility predicts effective leadership. Humility is associated with minimizing status differences, listening to subordinates, soliciting input, admitting mistakes and being willing to change course when a plan seems not to work.” Hogan argues that Steve Jobs was a charismatic leader who was successful despite himself. “Alan Mullaly was a humble leader who saved Ford. Look what has happened to Apple after Jobs left and look what has happened at Ford after Mullaly left. Apple got better; Ford fell apart.

So how can leaders become more “humble” in their leadership style? Below Lock lists some top tips:

• Be curious; never stop being a learner. Spend time listening and learning from those at the front line of your business and those with very different life experiences to your own.
• Seek feedback regularly; treat it as a gift and act on it. Develop your awareness of your strengths and your weaknesses so that you know when to ask for help from others
• Be authentic; own up to mistakes and apologize when your behavior or decision-making falls below standard. Honesty consistently comes out on top when we ask people what their most important values are. People don’t need a perfect leader but they will gladly follow one that owns up to mistakes. Be willing to be vulnerable and show your humanness at times.
• Give up the need to have all the right answers; focus on asking the right questions. On Roffey Park’s  strategic leadership program, a key theme we cover with senior leaders is the need to give up the “Expert” role that probably got them where they are today. The more senior the leader, the more important it is for them to lead with questions rather than answers. No senior leader has all the information in their own head that is needed to make wise decisions in this disruptive age.

Be a servant leader; model the kind of followership you want from others by following the lead of others at times. Never ask anyone to do something you would not be willing to do yourself” (Higginbottom, 2018).

As servant-led leaders, how do we become strategic and authentic?

 

References:

 

Higginbottom, K. (2018, July 20). The Value Of Humility In Leadership. Retrieved October 12, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenhigginbottom/2018/07/18/the-value-of-humility-in-leadership/#6663a17624e9