Humility

Most of us are taught from a very young age to be humble. Religions tend to see humility as a virtue. In the Bible, humility is described as being without pride or arrogance and putting others before oneself. It is also the idea that God is all-powerful and that we are insignificant in comparison. I think the concept of humility is essential to happiness as it allows us to reflect on how lucky we are within our situations and genuinely appreciate those around us.

Humble: having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s importance.
Oxford Languages

The opposite of humility is narcissism and hubris.

Narcissism: selfishness, involving a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy, and a need for admiration, as characterising a personality type.
Oxford Languages

Hubris: excessive pride or self-confidence.
Oxford Languages

I was reading a book today and came across a definition of humility that emphasised recognition of greatness in others. This type of humility, where you recognise and publicly celebrate others’ excellence, is vital to Level 5 leadership from Jim Collins.

Humility implies an aptitude to learn: a willingness to listen: a recognition of the greatness of others.
Percy Cerutty

We all want to develop mastery and become successful by whatever definition we give success. Success requires a deep level of belief in ourselves and what we can achieve. This personal belief does not sit well with the simplicity of the Oxford Languages definition of humility. It feels much easier and more appropriate to focus your efforts on others rather than develop humility by focusing on your ego. We need to understand how much we still need to learn, understand that everyone can teach us something, and appreciating other people and their skills as a route to humility.

In a world becoming more narcissistic, be a person of humility.

Leardership and management 101

I believe there are three keys to strong leadership and management:

Vision
Wellbeing
Productivity

First, you have to have a clear and ambitious vision for the future your team is creating and communicate it so that they believe it. Next, you need to look after the individual team members and promote psychological safety. Finally, you need to break your vision down into clear goals and let each team member know what they are responsible for, then let them get on with it.

Vision: the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.
Oxford Languages

Wellbeing: the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy.
Oxford Languages

Productivity: the effectiveness of productive effort, especially in industry, as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input.
Oxford Languages

A new manager can start with simple steps for each of the three elements and then gradually built upon them to spiral out their capabilities as a manager and leader. For example, once you have written a vision, you are holding regular open and honest 1:1 meetings with each team member, and everyone is clear on what they should be working on, you could turn your vision into a strategy, You could add a daily stand each morning to build community in the team, and you can start to have more control over the flow of work by identifying and removing constraints.

If you want some ideas on how to spiral out your vision and productivity, Jim Collins’s Level 5 leadership and the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) are an excellent place to start. For wellbeing, begin by learning about creating a psychologically safe workplace and then take the lessons of Self-determination theory to encourage your team to develop autonomy, competence, and relatedness in their work.