Work Hard, On This....For Leaving Great Lasting Impressions

We see the world as a place of hurry and keen competition, isn’t it? As little kids we’re taught to do nothing but climb the ladder of success, we put one foot above the other and visualize our future self with a bold title of “you made it!” In a world where it seems as though pride is handed through the pleats of color ribbons, medals, and framed papers of accomplishment.... 

And, we forget that most of the time we owe our success to the people around us, which can sometimes make it difficult to stay with our feet on the ground.  It is that quality of mind that keeps us to mix with others freely. In this we forget the one factor that is of supreme importance that is to be acquired by a judicial and rational development of mind. Anything we think to be “beneath” that will limit what we’re capable of achieving. The people who are truly the most accomplished are those who do not consider themselves to be better than anyone else, have this enormous quality….

And that is HUMILITY.

As a human being, it is imperative to show humility in everything we do, to instill this value in others. It’s important to note that humility isn’t about being meek, or short selling ourselves; humility is the understanding of our place and our role, even if that role is at the top or right at the bottom.

Humility and what it means…

Humility is a sincere expression of respect for those around us. If others are constantly subjected to our pride and arrogance, then any success we manage to accomplish will be short-lived. Meaningful achievement comes from raising people up, not from putting them down. Those who are consumed with being better than everyone else, never give themselves the opportunity to be the best they can be. Self-importance and arrogant behaviour reflect underlying weakness, while true strength, confidence and effectiveness are evidenced by quiet humility.

Why Humility Matters?

Humility is the noble choice to forgo your status and use your influence for the good of others. It is to hold our power in service of others.” Being humble is the mark of a great human being for many reasons.

Humility is common sense

It is a reflection of the deep structure of reality. None of us is an expert at everything. What we don’t know and can’t do, far exceeds what we do know and can do.

Humility is beautiful

It is a simple psychological reality: we are more attracted to the great who are humble, than to the great who know it and want to know us too. “Presumption diminishes greatness. Humility enhances greatness; is greatness.” The same is true in any context.

We know from history that humility has not always been admired?

In ancient Rome, humility was a negative word associated with defeat. Humility before the Gods and Emperors was advised, but humility towards an equal was regarded as ill-informed. One of the prized virtues was “love of honour.”

Humility is generative

It generates new knowledge, new abilities. The logic is easy: the proud person (say, at a conference like this) will go away with less than the humble person, who is looking to learn. This is even true in science. Think about how science works: it is basically a humble confession that you can’t just observe the world and describe it; you have to test your theory.

The scientific revolution is the result of a humility revolution. Humility generates science.

True also in business. John Kotter tracked the careers of 115 of his students from the Harvard Business School. One student was average in class, but ended up being an incredible leader.

Lucky break?

No.

What took him further was his humility. “Confronting his mistakes, he minimized the arrogant attitudes that often accompany success.” He watched more closely and listened more closely than others. “The humble place is the place of growth.”

Humility is persuasive

The textbook on persuasion for 2,000 years boils down what persuades to 3 things: logos (intellectual component), pathos (aesthetic or emotional), and ethos (character of the persuader). Aristotle said: the character is the most significant. “We believe good-hearted people to a greater extent and more quickly than we do others on all subjects in general and completely so in cases where there is not exact knowledge but room for doubt. Humility as a character is almost, so to speak, the controlling factor in persuasion.”

Humility is inspiring

— It facilitates bringing people together. Other people will find it easier to relate to us if we are more humble and more like them. This, in turn, draws them closer to us and to each other.

— It enables collaboration. Many people find it hard to approach egotistical people to ask for help or offer their own assistance. This, of course, can kill any effort before it even begins.

— It encourages innovation, as well. They realize that the best ideas often come from beyond their own minds and sometimes, beyond their own imagination.

—  It motivates creative thinkers to reach into new territories and build new networks and bonds (which, in turn, add to the collaboration power and feeling of everyone around).

Leadership and the Importance of Humility  

Why?

In most cases, the leaders themselves are intelligent and competent. They are strategic and knowledgeable about what needs to be done. It’s difficult for some people to understand how to combine humility and leadership. After all, taking charge of a group of people does require a certain amount of confidence and determination.

But often the missing piece comes down to emotional and social intelligence — the human capacity to connect with others and guide them towards a shared vision. “The real power of effective leadership is maximizing other people’s potential, which inevitably demands ensuring they get the credit. When our ego won’t let us build another person up, then the effectiveness of the organization goes down.”

When leaders appear aloof and unapproachable, we admire them, but we don’t imitate them. But humble leaders: We don’t just admire them; we aspire to be like them.

Leadership essentially boils down to ability, authority, character, persuasion. Some of the most inspiring leaders in history had no structural authority. They just had truckloads of ability, character, and persuasion. Perhaps we can think about the benefits of being humble without sacrificing our capacity to lead.

After all business isn’t just a collection of people who happen to work on discreet tasks in the same office. A business is a team of people working together towards shared goals, often depending on one another’s success. Inspirational leadership is vital in providing a clear vision, but that doesn’t emerge in a vacuum. It takes a positive and collaborative environment to nurture success from the top down and the bottom up.

That entails firstly being humble

— by speaking about ourselves  as little as possible,

— being courteous always,

— not seeking admiration,  

— allowing  open communication,

— building trust,  

— exercising patience,

— bold enough to test and try different approaches, and

— occasionally taking a little bit of risk — such as giving the talent opportunities to implement their good ideas,

Ending this post with all humility one can summon by quoting C. S. Lewis who said, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less."