3 Ways To Pursue Humility Today!

Why does being humble matter?

In a culture where we have athletes and artists who unashamedly proclaim for all the world, they are the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) and social media networks that are basically engineered for self-promotion by addiction you may wonder if humility is even an important concept when it comes to leadership. After all, many praise social influencers who are talented and know it and proclaim it for all the world to see. There is something both attractive and appalling about a person with enough confidence to call themselves the best at something and then can actually prove they are the best.

But pride (even if it can be rightfully declared for one's talent) has a dark side.

Pride makes us blind to our other faults. We all have them.

Consider for a moment one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century:

The Titanic was declared an unsinkable boat. So they were not worried about making sure there were enough lifeboats on it to safely hold all of the passengers aboard in case something did happen.

History is filled with stories like the Titanic.

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. - Proverbs 16:18 NIV

What does true humility look like in leadership?

To understand what humility looks like, we have to identify what it masquerades to be.

We see so many people pretending to be humble but in a very public way. Just do a quick search of #humble. We want to be seen, we want to be identified as a good person. But true humility is hidden from the public eye, it is about character, not attention. It is about integrity; what you are really like when no one will ever know.

Here are some really difficult but humility-inducing actions you can take today to pursue the path of humility in your own life:

Be the first to admit when you are wrong (with no expectation of the other side doing the same)

There is nothing more humbling than asking forgiveness from someone below you for something you did or said or how you did it or said it.

Now try asking forgiveness when it's your reaction to their wrong actions.

They may be wrong. They may be at more fault than you. But asking forgiveness for your side of the issue will destroy your pride in a way that makes you a more humble person and from my experience this single act of humility can over time have the power to change the culture around you.

Why do this? All of us want a culture of selflessness in our organizations or teams. But no one gets there by merely talking about how everyone needs to be more selfless or worse yet criticizing those who aren't. You get there by leading the way in selflessness. There is no better way to produce a selfless culture than as a leader demonstrating it by being the first to ask forgiveness. This single act of humility will enact more change to the relationships around you than any other in my experience.

Sacrifices for the sake of those under your leadership (and then make sure no one knows about you did it)

There is nothing more humiliating than to do something good for another and not be recognized for it. Or even worse, have it mistakenly pinned on someone else.

The battle for humility is first an internal struggle. To become a more humble person you must forsake the desire to be known for the good you have done.

Ask someone you don't agree with (and don't like) how you can improve.

There are people in your life who get on your nerves. There are people you would never invite out for lunch or to hang out at your house. Maybe they're overtly negative, maybe they never seem to agree with you or anyone. Maybe, just maybe they're notoriously wrong and not much of a team player.

This is the perfect person to ask for advice on how you can improve.

They're perfect because they will tell it like they see it.

You have enough friends to soften the blow, talk about your good traits, and support you by seeing the good in everything you do. You need someone who won't mince words and will give you some (from their perspective) honest perspective.

Then, consider the advice. And be careful to not reject it outright.

There is a grain of truth in almost everything you disagree with.

Humility is not natural.

Humility doesn't come naturally to anyone.

If you practice any of these steps and you feel your defenses rising up you know you're on the right path.

Real humility is really hard to practice.

The tension you feel with wanting to defend yourself, let someone know what you did, or skip that uncomfortable conversation with someone you don't like, embrace it!

Embracing the hard things will make you a better person and will single handily change your team or organization's culture.

Today, don't just 'try' to be more humble, do one of these 3 things and you will be on your way to transforming yourself into a more humble and (may I add) nicer person to be around.

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