Leadership - Humility

Leadership – Humility

Consider these two great quotes regarding humility and why it is a key to quality leadership.

"Humility is not about thinking less of yourself; it is about thinking about yourself less."

Humility is a great virtue, but it does not mean you have to think less of yourself.  Being humble means thinking of others more than yourself.  That does not mean that you think less of yourself.  As the matter of fact it you can feel a whole lot better about yourself by thinking more about others.  You may not associate humility with great leadership but truly exceptional leaders understand the importance of humility. 

“Pride is concerned with who is right.  Humility is concerned with what is right.”

            -Ezra Taft Benson

As leaders we should be concerned with what is right, not if we are right.  What a great world it would be if we were all more concerned with what is right than who is right.  We spend a lot of time defending our position, arguing our viewpoint and building our own individual case.  Is our position always what is right?  That seems doubtful.  There are times we may be arguing for what is right, but often we are just concerned with being right.  Sometimes we even know that we are not right, but we just can’t bring ourselves to admit that we are wrong.  It should not be about being wrong.  It should be about what is right.  This is a tough one for many leaders.  Often leaders think they are supposed to be right and always have the answers.   

Leadership is not about being focused on oneself and always being right.  Leadership is about thinking more about other and what the right answer is for the situation.  Practice humility…