15 Keys to Winning with Knowledge and Confidence, Not Arrogant Ignorance

"True greatness requires a long term and committed obedience to stay on the endless road of bettering one's self everyday . This road is paved with the stones of Intellectual Humility." - James Vena

As suggested by many who have read my previous article on achieving successful entrepreneurship ("What is Normal for the Spider is Chaos for the Fly" - Understanding Your Inner Entrepreneur - https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/born-succeed-stuff-youre-made-james-vena ) I am regurgitating/re-calibrating that post to broaden the playing field beyond using the foundations of intellectual humility to achieve business success. In this post, it is suggested that the attainment of a mindset of intellectual humility will yield positive results in everything you do as it challenges the subscriber to be better everyday.

Consequently this post is meant to reach and inspire anyone that is trying to be a better version of themselves today than they were yesterday (and even better tomorrow) that is hoping to be a better person, partner, leader, team builder, team player, board adviser, teacher, coach and the like.

Truth be told, I use those same tenets that helped me achieve success in business, in all other areas of my life. How could I not? After all it is a mindset and a lifestyle that I have adopted over the years as part of my own development. In my case, I had terrific mentors, and really good results.

I have recently come to understand this effect more and more these days as I mentor and teach others to understand the value intellectual humility when it comes to empowerment, benevolent capitalism, ethical culture, entrepreneurship and socially responsible leadership. My audience these days runs the gamut from class rooms to board rooms to executive offices.

Attaining intellectual humility also helps remedy the current communication crisis is becoming more prevalent with each passing day. Whether it be technology advances or discourse, our state of personal communication (or lack thereof) is troubling. Diminished skills of articulation and cordial conversation is as alarming as it is crippling to growth and development.

No surprise here, as we are experiencing a this crisis of communication in leadership in all aspects of our lives, on a daily basis. Simply put, communication these days is overly calculated and more apt to deliver disingenuous perfection rather than genuine imperfection. 

The former is too contrived and meant to be in-arguable, like words cast in stone, whereas the latter is more passionate and open to objective and mutually beneficial conversation. I have always found that the more areas of open communication, the more the chances are for cooperation, which in itself is always good when it comes to achieving goals as a team.

Achieving success in life requires listening with the genuine desire to understand so that you will learn something for everyone, every day. This is specifically important to the leader that aspires to inspire and empower others rather than just motivate and attempt to influence and control.

Dwight Eisenhower once said - "In order to be a leader, a man must have followers. and to have followers, a man must have their confidence. The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office. If a mans associates find him guilty of being a phony, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must "square" with each other. Therefore the first great need is integrity and high purpose."

So, What is Intellectual Humility?  Being intelligent enough to understand the importance of knowing what you don't know is just as important as knowing what you do know; being understated in a way that your reach never extends beyond your grasp; possessing a mind so open and curious, that you genuinely strive to learn something every day, from every one that you encounter; being passionately interested in others, knowing that doing so makes you more interesting to everyone.

Whether the aspiration is to achieve your ambitions in business, leadership roles, relationships, partnerships, physical fitness, health issues, education and the like, your foundations in your mindset will ultimately support your growth and development. 

As Lao Tzu so eloquently said "The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness."

Hence, self improvement is not ascertained simply by "wanting" to be better than someone else, rather it is gained by those who genuinely seek to be better than their former selves, on a daily basis. Wanting to be better than you were yesterday, is a common thread that most successful people share.

My tenets to consider in order to develop Intellectual Humility:

• Underachievers always make excuses; Winners always make time.
• Learn when to give in, but don't EVER to give up.
• Lapses in judgment are human and often forgiven, however there is no such thing as a lapse of integrity.
• Intelligent people fight fire with water, never with fire. Only the unintelligent allow emotions to cloud their judgements to control their subsequent actions.
• Be equally passionate about understanding others as you are in wanting to be understood.
• Winners are articulate storytellers and know that to be interesting to someone, you must first be genuinely interested in that same someone.
• Understand that while TIME may heal all wounds, it will kill all deals. Be expeditious, passionate and determined to finish what you start.   
• Possess a childlike curiosity to go along with a contagious smile and humbleness.
• Know what you don’t know, and be so open minded that you want to learn something from EVERYONE you meet.
• Have high expectations of others, but even higher expectations for yourself. 
• Compromise to cooperate, but never at the expense of your own principles or the integrity of your partners. 
• Always be understated with a grasp that extends past your reach. The world already has too many overstated people with reaches that extend beyond their grasp.
• Always be optimistic and genuinely excited about the future and success of others, and let them know it. 
• Demand the highest in quality from your partners and always choose "character" over "characters" when building a team. 
• Express genuine benevolence, compassion, responsibility, tolerance and understanding towards everyone, everyday.

In truth, Intellectual Humility isn't really very complicated at all . Basically its just an anatomy and path to achieving what many refer to as "the golden rule." I often say, if you want to make a real difference to those who surround you, just react in the same way as if your parents and grandparents were watching!

These tenets should be your foundation as you get on your journey to find success in the class room, schoolyard, team locker room, family room and the board room. It all starts with a winning mindset. 

Thank you for reading!

"May you always have enough of the things you need for yourself and an abundance of the things you'd like to share with others. In this way, your hands will always be extended in friendship and never in want." (James Vena)

James Vena

About the Author - James Vena is an innovative thinker and global entrepreneur who has influenced key decision-makers around the globe in strategic development, growth, leadership and investment. He is respected for his unique and global perspectives, big ideas, team building, partnerships and methodical execution of a strategic plan.

Since retiring as the Founder/CEO of a well-established global trade house, James has earned a strong reputation as an adviser to a wide array of business entities around the globe. James’ s career started as a China trader of commodities in the early 1980's for a large trading house. He left his job to start his own trading company at 26.

Over the next 20 years he developed the company (SATCORP) into an internationally recognized entity with offices in 15 countries, achieving sales over USD 1 Billion before it was sold. After taking a sabbatical in 2005 to care for his cancer stricken wife and help raise his two children, James decided to re-enter the business world in 2010.

Since, he started a few ventures, been retained as an adviser to several businesses around the globe, headed a globalization, restructuring and rebranding effort, advised on several mergers and acquisitions and continue to do so as an independent consultant and advisory board member.

James’s entrepreneurial mindset combined with a gift of articulation and unique style of communication enables him to turn ideas into easy to understand and marketable undertakings. Mr. Vena is an ethical culturist that practices benevolent capitalism and teaches socially conscience entrepreneurship. He attributes his successes to his mentors and practicing of intellectual humility. He also now mentors these core principals to groups, individual and aspiring entrepreneurs worldwide.

Check out James Vena’s other posts now being featured in the LinkedIn Pulse here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/today/author/0_2xo7sKMz32aX_5ezTbSzZq?trk=mp-reader-h