Humility in Leadership

We seek different things from our leaders at different times. Sometimes, to stride forward, with purpose. Sometimes to pause and reflect. Sometimes to step right back and hold space for others. At times we want them to carry the greatest part of the weight, and at others their role is to distribute the load. But whatever we seek from them, or see in them, we tend to hold an overarching view that leaders should be fair, accessible, open, authentic, trustworthy, inclusive, and humble.

That last one may sound odd: it’s easy to consider that humility is the same as coming in last place. That humility is about stepping back and being quiet. But that’s not a universal view.

In the research for ‘The Humble Leader’ book, people chose to describe humility in active ways: they felt that leaders who were humble took action, but then sought feedback on their impact, and worked with a trusted circle to process that feedback. People had a surprising clear – and active – view of what humility would look like in practice. Not simply standing and thinking, but acting with thought and reflection.

It seems important to consider that humility is not about thinking harder, or being more introspective, because those features may simply cause us to see our current actions more clearly.

Instead, i think a useful way to consider humility is through our impact, and specifically the shadow that we cast.

In the Quiet Leadership work we explore these shadows: the perspective is that we operate in the light – and hence maybe act with integrity within the light – but our impact is felt in both the light and the shadows. And in part it may be our own ‘self’ that casts the shadow.

Fundamental to this view is to understand the Organisation as Ecosystem: that we act within it, we do not hover above it. We leave footprints as we travel, we breathe in and out. Indeed, in every day, through the smallest of actions, we both enhance and degrade the system around us.

This may sound odd: to think of leaders as making things worse, but it’s inevitable. Even if only by omission, we are unequal in our action. Even if only by travelling to do good, we leave footprints that may reflect harm. This is not a view of the Organisation being full of good and bad people. It’s a view that Organisations are full of good people, but that all of us good people cast shadows, many of which we cannot see or sense. And in those shadows, people become harmed, unheard, or lost.

In this sense, humility becomes an act of reflection, and seeking. The Humble Leader is the leader who is willing to walk out of the light: to listen into the silence. To step forwards.

This speaks of humility as an active process, and one that explores not the distant horizon, but the environment that surrounds us. The shadow is always connected to us, even if only by the thinnest of threads.

We cannot lose our shadow: we should not think of these things are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ or ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Rather what we seek, through reflective practice, and through the eyes of others, is a perspective on how we travel. What mark do we make, and what lies beyond our sight.

This is about being engaged with our impact – not to ‘solve’ it, but to bring that which is hidden into our imagination, and as part of a circular model of reflective practice. To note, narrate, and move.

I wrote ‘The Humble Leader’ as a guided reflection for Social Leaders. It’s not a book of answers, but rather a sketch map to explore. Either alone, or alongside someone else. You can find it here.