Characteristics of Leadership: Humility

Humility is one of the most important, and yet overlooked attribute of leadership.  Certainly overlooked in so-called leadership development programmes offered by copious schools of management and leadership centres that have mushroomed over the past few decades.  Here we find leadership confused with management, and of course with leaders.  We also find that humility plays little part in the leader, or management, speak lexicon.

How many world, national, or for that matter, business and organisational leaders show, or practice humility?  Not very many.  Meanwhile, what then are the characteristics of humility?

• The willingness to acknowledge that there are always new things to learn.
• The agreeableness to accept the guidance of others, giving due regard to their knowledge and insights.
• Constantly learning, and always alert to the possibility of an improvement in one’s understanding and ways of doing things.

Humility is not about belittlement, or putting oneself down.  Indeed, exercising humility is about having a just estimate of our abilities and the recognition that with regards to our achievements we must also recognise that our success was the result of the help of others.

Those who are humble know their own worth and so have the confidence to acknowledge the faults and gaps in their knowledge and understanding.

We tend to trust those who, when they get things wrong have the humility to say so, whereas those who cannot acknowledge their limitations for whatever reason, whether out of vanity, or for fear of seeming weak, will be suspect of dishonesty.

In many ways humility is the key to the understanding of the oneness of life.

 

You can find the Leadership and Learning Pathways wedsite at:

http://www.leadershipandlearning-2e-org.350.com/home_page.htm