Humility: A Tool for Leaders

Today was a very reflective day. I attended a funeral, and the message from the pastor was always to have a heart when it came to life. While suffering is part of life, when met with compassion, the path becomes footsteps that leave a positive impact.  

Over the past seven months, I have been reflecting on my leadership style. Instead of referencing your typical leadership book, during this time, instead, I re-read two books in my library that I had not picked up in a while. 

The first one is the Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by the Reverend James Martin, a Jesuit priest. While a practical spiritual guidebook based on the life and teaching of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. 

The second is Lead with Humility by Jeffrey A. Krames, a business and executive leadership author, who wrote such titles as What the Best CEOs Know and The Welch Way: 24 Lessons From the World’s Greatest CEO.

You can learn a lot from the Jesuits about leadership that to take into the boardroom and the business world. After all, they have been around for over 450 years. 

Jesuit leadership is practical. You recognize and understand ones’ strengths and weaknesses, realize the viewpoints of the world, are open to adapt to a changing world (which is always changing), and treating others with a respectful and positive attitude. Any manager or executive needs to hone these skills as they assume a leadership mantle. Both books explore principles that show leaders in the workplace can avoid insularity, be inclusive, be pragmatic, and understand your employees.

Both books are excellent materials for leaders in terms of understanding and engaging with employees (don’t judge – assess your employees' strengths and weaknesses and utilize them wisely). In being thoughtful about your decision-making process (make time to speak with your employees and be inclusive, take care of people, not factions). In being open to change and pragmatic when trying to be that change in the world (go where you are needed, avoid dogma with pragmatism).

If you have ever served on a board of directors, the lessons of these books are essential in helping to develop a new vision or advance your current one. Working to breakdown the fear of the unknown (risk), and unreasonable business practices that make it harder to innovate and prevent you from seizing new opportunities. These are part of humble leadership.

Leaders also need to understand their employees' passions. Working for an organization dedicated to helping people, it is easy to spot the love for what they do. However, no matter what kind of organization you work at, both books talk about encouraging an employees' passion and joy and how that allows team members to come together, collaborate, be respectful to each other and give their best work. 

If you are looking for a good refresher or a new perspective on leadership, I would highly suggest these two books to add to your library.