Humility

Humor and Humility are Key Executive Traits for the long-haul

 A former classmate of mine who had a very successful long-term career with a growing company shared with me why he chose to leave that company and pursue other interests. This individual rose through the ranks and had several promotions and was well thought of.  In fact he had built quite a legacy of former direct reports ascending the management ranks.  He related to me the following “I had a terrific career and cherished the company …. the mission of the company was very noble…”  A great company that appeared to reward this person financially and emotionally….why would he leave?

The problem, as is so often the case, was a growing discord with his immediate supervisor.  It’s been said many times that people do not leave a company…they leave due to their manager.  According to my colleague, the supervisor was a tyrant.  This individual exhibited minimal social skills and a demeanor that was a perfect example of someone “knowing it all at the expense of not caring at all”.   The old adage of nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care was in complete chaos with this egomaniac….You know the kind…”my way or the highway”!

It was not just in business application/procedures…this ogre needed to give his inputs on everything.  His demeanor was one of executor & manipulator. He practiced over-the-top, heavy-handed, one-way communication that served to reinforce my friends’ decision to leave the organization. Apparently, my colleague wasn't the only one who felt this way as many other very qualified mid-level supervisors also evacuated the sinking ship.  What was learned from this debacle?


“Humility is a key quality that needs to be practiced at all levels of management for long-term success”

Simply put, these are leadership traits that attract and resonate with all kinds of people. People want to feel loved.  People want recognition. People crave appreciation.  Recognizing the fact that humility is a trait that successful managers employ daily is critical to understanding long-term success in business & team building. Understanding that one need to partner rather than dictate to come up with best practices and strategy is paramount to success. It is recognized that to ascend to executive management in an organization most often it is imperative to have a competitive nature.  However, competitive traits as a primary form of leadership can de-rail an organization from the inside-out.  Being competitive without collaboration is a formula for failure.  Without collaboration and partnership, an organization is doomed to ultimate failure. 

Humility is not a form of weakness but rather strength.  Those senior executives who “man up” and facilitate an environment with both humor & humility will also strengthen a company to build a sense of community and culture.  Those who lack a sense of humor and humility often tend to be overly self involved, self important, egotistical, self centered, and dysfunctional. As a result, they may operate effectively in short term or on a focused project, but as circumstances inevitably change, they eventually implode.

In the words of T. S. Eliot, former playwright & Nobel Prize winner, “Humility is the most difficult of all virtues to achieve; nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of one’s self.”

Try to avoid the tendency that implies a weakness “when we don’t know it all”.  Think about the learning experience and begin to realize that when learning is not happening…perhaps we are dead.  I guess I can sum up by saying that senior executives with a sense of humor and humility are probably more adaptive to a broad range of changing conditions and are more likely to be successful over the long haul than those who lack those traits. But that's based solely on my observation and experience. What are your thoughts?