The key to leadership? A healthy dose of humility

When you remember the best bosses you’ve worked under, you may think about their talents, their charisma in front of a crowd, or their unbelievable work ethic. But more likely than not the leaders you’ve felt the most genuinely inspired by were those who’ve showed you their human side.

Being all-knowing, all-powerful and infallible is not just impossible – it’s alienating. You can’t inspire confidence in your employees if they can’t see anything of themselves in you. Being a good leader is not about acting like some kind of superhuman, who’s immune to failure, weakness or doubt (and who can’t possibly share the same elevator with the interns…).

I’ve travelled the world, meeting the people steering the direction of the most forward-thinking companies out there. And each of them shared one (perhaps slightly surprising) characteristic. They all had healthy dose of humility.

What made them humble leaders? They stripped away that facade – the fake notions of what a CEO or director “should” be – and allowed people to get to know their true selves. They didn’t set themselves apart from their employees, or enforce a hierarchy. They admitted their mistakes in front of their staff – which helped them take a more holistic view to problem-solving. They involved the teams in making decisions, inviting feedback at all levels. And they were humble in the way that they celebrated successes – presenting them as a collective effort and congratulating the entire team, rather than feeding their own ego.

Have you heard of the term “servant leadership”? It’s where CEOs view themselves as in service to those who work under them. Instead of seeing it as your responsibility to control your workforce, it’s about seeing your role in helping employees – and therefore, your company – to grow.

A key part of this, is acting from a place of empathy. Do you truly understand what your staff need to grow, and to thrive? (Have you asked them?) According to the State of the Workplace Empathy Study 2018 by Businessolver, empathy is “the new black”. But, the research found a huge gap between how empathetic CEOs believed their companies to be, and how their staff felt (92% of the CEOs felt their company was empathetic, but only 50% of employees agreed).

Humility and empathy go hand-in-hand when it comes to leadership – they are both about taking an emotionally intelligent approach. CEOs need not feel guilty about earning a higher salary, disregarding their years of education and experience for the sake of appearing more equal. Instead, it’s about cultivating a working culture built upon high-quality, “human-to-human” relationships between management and staff.

This includes showing an understanding of what employees need from you, – and how this is dramatically changing. For example, according to IWG’s Global Workspace Survey, more than half of global employees (54%) would rather have a choice of work location than more holiday allowance. And the same amount said that having the freedom to choose where they work is more important to them than working for a prestigious company.

Flexible working – be it offering the option for staff to work part-time, remotely or in a conveniently located flexspace – is a surefire way of showing staff you understand what they need to do their best work – because, as a fellow human being, you have needs, too.

Humility is innate, but it can be developed. It’s something that needs to be worked upon daily – it requires time for self-examination. Acknowledging your own failures, sharing your hurdles, and speaking openly about mistakes and generates a powerful sense of identification – and encourages employees to be more open with you. And you get so much more out of your team than you do from cracking the whip.

As a leader in business, it’s ok to not have all the answers. Who knows, if you’re humble enough to ask others for help – and you’re ready to actively listen – the answers might be sitting at the desk opposite you right now…

Read more insights about the changing face of the global workforce.

Thank you Kate Busby, Tiago Alves, Renato Amorim and Regus Global Team for the noble space!

Read the original text on https://tinyurl.com/y6luynrd

***

Marc Tawil

Empreendedor, comunicador, escritor, palestrante e filantropo. 

No1 LinkedIn Top Voices & Live Broadcaster

Dirijo a Tawil Comunica??o, 1o Melhor Empresa Para Trabalhar 2019 pelo Great Place To Work. Assino a coluna semanal Futuro do Trabalho, em época Negócios. Atuo ainda como Parceiro de Conteúdo de Nespresso Professional, SAP Business Influencer e conselheiro editorial da Revista HSM Management. Sou coordenador na Camara de Comércio Fran?a-Brasil e embaixador da Escola Conquer e do Portal Transforma??o Digital.

No Terceiro Setor, atuo como conselheiro do Adus | Instituto de Reintegra??o do Refugiado e do Instituto êxito de Empreendedorismo, multiplicador B pelo Sistema B, embaixador pela Educa??o da ONG Gaia + também pela Pessoa com Deficiência Intelectual pelo Grupo Chaverim – Amigos.