"The x-factor of great leadership is not personality, it's humility". - Jim Collins
Welcome back on the blog, everyone - hope you're shining on this beautiful Monday morning 🌟
This weekend I stumbled across this quote from Jim Collins, and it really rang a bell on me. As I advance on my journey as an adult, I come to realize that humility is one of the most appreciable yet difficult inner qualities a human being can develop. And this is specially true for people or leaders who somehow have already achieved a certain level of success or have a relevant status in society.
If we don't stay humble enough when we succeed, chances are we're going to fail and be forced to come back at a previous, lower level on the spiral of growth.
When I was a child, I thought that at age 33 I would have it all figured out. When we are lucky enough to easily navigate school, we might wrongly assume that life is simple and that our intelligence is always going to save us in difficult situations.
But while intelligence is important, it is definitely not all we need to succeed or guide others in attaining success. The capacity to understand that there is a lot more to learn in this life than we've already learned, is crucially important if we want to keep evolving and help others do the same.
So, here I am, still learning every day. One of the most humbling situations that I've been going through in these last few months, is accepting (once again) the fact that mathematical/logical intelligence does not come easily to me. After many years of being away from hard skills, I am trying to learn and integrate Accounting as part of the Management studies I am engaged in. And it's almost painful to realize how little I know about it.
Because it's something that is so important in our society and serves as a strong basis for every business to succeed, I made the promise to myself that I would do my best to learn it. Still, my best, comparing to other people in class, is so little. In previous years through my journey on Earth, I would have felt very frustrated about it. Today, I stay humble and accept it, because I understand this is the only way I can actually make any progress.
Developing Meditaction has been another great lesson on humility. When I stay humble and vulnerable, and share my doubts and struggles with an open heart with others, I usually get really good advice and see the project making quantum leaps of progress. And that's all I aspire for this project - so I'll just keep doing it more!
Humility: an important gateway for thriving teams
Humility is realizing that we cannot do everything on our own.
Hence, the importance of human collaboration in almost every aspect of life. In the work environment, thriving teams are the ones where each individual is aware of their strengths, but also their weaknesses. When people in a group aren't scared of admitting their weaknesses and feel confident enough to ask for help, others can actually be of service and offer their best to the group.
And we humans, want to be of service to others. That's what adds meaning to our lives.
Good leaders are the ones who can create that feeling of trust and confidence for people to bring out their best. And how can they develop that? By being humble themselves. By showing others that it is OK to not know it all, and that if I don't know it, there's probably someone in the group that knows it. That's the beauty of collective intelligence.
How to trigger the seed of humility?
For some, the seed of humility has been infused since childhood. Perhaps we learned it from our parents or other role models, or we had significant and challenging life experiences that taught us to be humble. For others, humility might come from self-reflection or witnessing the achievements of others.
What's important to understand, is that since we are always evolving in life, practicing humility is an evergoing engagement. And the beauty of it, is that we have the chance to practice it in our everyday lives, in our interactions with others. Some other ways that help us develop humility:
Acknowledging Ignorance
"Admission of ignorance is often the first step in our education", Stephen Covey. Coming to terms with the fact that we don't know everything and that there is always more to learn encourages us to have a curious and open-minded approach to life. When we are humble enough to adopt that beginner's mind, we can actually learn.
Failures and Mistakes
"A mistake that makes you humble is better than an achievement that makes you arrogant." People are usually terrified of failing. Myself included, sometimes. But it is only when we take risks and we allow ourselves to fail, that we become closer to succeed. When we fail and get up, we will feel stronger than if we had never tried. And we will be humbled, as well, and ready to move forward in the right direction.
Receiving Constructive Feedback
When we open ourselves to others and allow them to give us constructive feedback, we are opening the door for improvement. Of course we need to stay vigilant and able to discern constructive feedback from pure criticism, but if we are humble enough to listen to what others have to say, most times, we realize that they have a lot to teach us.
Cultural Immersion & Navigating Unfamiliar Terrain
The most important lessons I've learned in life happened when I was travelling in distant places, stepping completely outside of my comfort zone. Exposure to different cultures and perspectives can be a really humbling experience. It challenges preconceived notions and encourages an appreciation for the richness of human diversity.
Final Thoughts
In the world of leadership, humility stands out as a quiet force that has the potential to transform good leaders into exceptional ones. In our journey as humans, no matter what our role in society, it helps us grow and become better human beings.
Humility is not a sign of weakness.
It is a sign of progress.
Love,
💗
Tati
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