It's hard to be humble…

Two of my favorite thinkers and writers in the fields of business and leadership are Warren Bennis and Jim Collins. I’ve been thinking lately about what a heck-of-a strong chair they could build together, balancing it squarely on the principles they ascribe to an effective leader. Have a seat, and I’ll explain.

Bennis talks about a 3-legged leadership stool, which rests securely on ambition, competence and a strong moral compass. In my view, Collins further stabilizes the stool by adding humility and determination, which he attributes to the best, “Level 5” leaders.

Over the next couple of months, I want to break down the chair, as it were, by addressing each of the attributes listed above. I’ll start this deconstruction with, well, humility. To me, it’s the least tangible of all the legs, yet the most important—and on some days I have to think the least commonly come by.

Strong leaders inspire a wish in others to follow. And it’s there, I think, where we find the measure of a leader. Leadership guru Max Depress says it much better: “The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers.”

Tests evaluate our knowledge, evaluations our competence and performance. We might even find in a strategic plan a measure of our determination or ambition. But humility, by definition, is less evident. It doesn’t compete for attention or seek to be heard above all else. It willingly takes a back seat, if you will, to other attributes that might more readily squirm and jump to be noticed.

A good leader is confident enough to be humble, secure enough to credit those he or she leads—whose gifts, talents and contributions make the leader possible. Genuine concern for one’s “followers” is a mark of humility, and when one humbly seeks to lead, that leadership, as Depree suggests, will vividly appear in the achievements, contentment and excellence of those who follow.

I’ll explore another of the “legs” in my next blog. Meanwhile, thanks so much for reading this one. I hope it sits well with you!