The Global Trend to "Hire"Humble" ... & why it could create its own challenges.

The scaling of mid market companies success over the last few years has pretty much propped up GDP growth in Australia to becoming the 13th per capita of the top 50 countries in the world. We are also encountering our 30th+ year of economic growth. Not bad when you consider our national population is less than half the State of California and barely 25% of England!

I don't think there's many people that's reading this that doesn't feel that "Everything is harder" currently in business... Decisions take longer, processes seem extrapolated and sustaining positive momentum is like swimming lengths in a pool that's filled with treacle!

So, lets keep opportunistic & confirm the time is ripe for you to step outside of your comfort zone and get what you deserve. The universe is waiting to hear from you, you just need to be brave enough to walk up its path , knock on the door and state.... "Hey I've arrived" !!

But once you've made this proclamation to the world; either as an employee gunning for promotion, a new job, or a company wanting to move upstream in it's customer landscape or Geo presence; how should you approach such opportunities? You may have heard that the popular vernacular is to be humble in your approach... ? Or you may have seen it combined with other terms which collectively represent the personification of what an ideal candidate is?

For example, We like to hear from candidates who are "Smart, Humble, Quirky Etc Etc"

I've seen the act of being humble referenced so many times now, I've discuss the topic with senior business leaders who expressed that with an increasing focus on gender and ethnic diversity; being humble could operate as the common link that keeps diverse teams working together effectively, unified and productive.

I get this, (and support it) but here's something interesting ...

The Dictionary defines Humble as:

"Humble": Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's importance".

So for wider context, to some peoples interpretation, being humble is under selling or under-promoting their position ( I experienced this when I was sat next to a gentlemen at a wedding. Who, when asked by someone at the table what he did he said he was "In the police" Which in fact he was; what he left out was that he was The Deputy Chief Commissioner of NSW state police!

Now consider my professional purpose on this planet in PEOPLE PERFORMANCE #STRATEGY and Scaling companies #TALENT is to elevate peoples perception of their worth and value. To position themselves as an enabler of great outcomes for all who encounter them.

Hence this became a bit of a quest for me as I felt deeply there was the following challenges if the understanding of being humble was misunderstood.

1, Organisations were stating they want Humble but without a definition of what meaning it personifies TO THEM.

2, Lets say an organisation knocks it out of the park and they achieve a 100% achievement record of everyone being Humble. By default, as being humble is an act of character and persona, how does this play into their people diversification and inclusion strategy if everyones response mechanism is geared the same way?

3, Bare in mind I received feedback from clients who advised that yes the candidate was a lovely human being, fitted the brief, had all the skills they needed but on the day they didn't get the job because.

..."Someone communicated their individual achievements better".

4, The lack of awareness & knowledge in the market on How you position your significant value, whilst remaining humble in the approach (Big One)

So I buckled up, strapped in, and explored this movement at the highest level I could, and this is what I concluded.

Companies wanted to take steps to protect their organisation against a culture that's the OPPOSITE of being humble... And of course, who would want to join a culture that's struggling with egocentric, self-centered and arrogant people?

Not me! and i'm sure you as well.

So the general consensus was, it isn't that organisations specifically went out to target being humble. Instead, it was a strategy to protect themselves from the culture they didn't want.

So that said, how do you emphasise the value and significance of what you've brought to a company whilst remaining humble? Trust me i've seen many talented people try and fail here so grab a coffee - Or your tipple of choice ;0)

Being humble is a true art form. Personally, I have an interesting relationship with being humble, in fact I kinda have a love/hate relationship with it. When I see people trip up, who quite rightfully should be proud, sharing with the world their significant achievements - I get frustrated with the effect external influencers have had as I watch them hugely underplay and understate themselves, just because they don't want to be labeled as boasting or "Big Headed".

I genuinely love people, and I get a huge kick out of seeing people thrive - I'm not a fan of anything that diminishes accomplishment. So here is my suggestions of how you can elevate and shout successes from the roof tops...and still have everyone in the room wanting to collaborate with you.

Say hello to "The Realm of Gratitude"

Gratitude is the quality of being thankful– possessing readiness to show appreciation and express thanks to those who made a positive contribution to an outcome. It gives you a platform to go as big as you want with the success story, but parachute in the SPECIFIC help you had by SPECIFIC people along the way. Trust me, put some thought into it and the list of people who influenced an outcome will continue to grow the more you think about it. By practicing specific gratitude, you can contribute to fostering a positive working environment and a great collaborative energy.

Reference the gratitude at the behavioural level: Not just the outcome or skills involved.

This ties into sincerity, but even sincere referencing can be vague, so make sure the gratitude praises the specific positive behaviors observed. This approach sets your team up for continued success as it emphasises the right behaviours employees should replicate in the future. Secondly,?according to Heidi Grant Halvorson : “Studies show that when we are praised for having high ability, it leaves us vulnerable to self-doubt when we encounter difficulty.” Therefore, by emphasising the quality of actions instead (things you have control over) over ability, you are developing confidence in a sustainable way.?

?Be Sincere & Authentic

..."Display the gratitude in the way the person wants to receive it"

You've all heard about shaping a message crafted to a particular buying persona?

The same goes for how you should represent gratitude to someone specifically. For example, someone may prefer a personal phone call to being named as a shout out on a company wide email. They would absolutely cringe at the thought of you doing a mention of them in a public speech.

The practice of gratitude—and its close sibling, appreciation Though research on gratitude has exploded over the past two decades, studies of gratitude at work are still somewhat limited; results so far link it to elevate positive emotional state, improved productivity and less sick days.

Appreciation has been defined as the act of acknowledging the goodness in life—in other words, seeing the positives in events, experiences, or other people (like our colleagues).?Gratitude goes a step further: It recognises how the positive things in our lives—like a success at work—are often due to forces outside of ourselves, particularly the efforts of other people who influenced it. But this kind of thinking can seem countercultural in the realm of elevating your position for promotions, where everyone is trying to get ahead and may be reluctant to acknowledge their reliance on other peoples great work.

Their experiences suggest that building cultures of gratitude and appreciation can transform our work lives, leading to deeper connections to each other and to the client outcomes we're trying to achieve.

Gratitude as a gateway to deeper emotional connections:

Gratitude can be a gateway to displaying empathy. It’s very positive and easy to initiate if you give specific reference which provides validation in the eyes of the listener. Some participants at a large technology company experienced feelings of guilt during a gratitude practice: Focusing on the good in their lives made them recognise all their privileges and how fortunate they were to have what they did. After sharing and discussing these feelings, they left the workshop determined to find ways to give back to people who weren’t so fortunate.

That’s an outcome you might expect from practicing gratitude: Studies show that grateful employees also become more engaged to “positive organisational behaviour".

I hope this article has prompted some interesting thoughts or opinions ? I'd love to hear about your own definition of being humble or your thoughts on it's current relevance in our ever evolving society at work?