Fundamentals of Level Three Leadership

40. Humility to Learn

Concept

Humility is a controversial potential characteristic of the effective global executive. Controversial because some, like Jim Collins,¹³ have argued that humility is an important characteristic of effective executives while others would argue that many, if not most, CEOs are highly self-confident and even narcissistically arrogant.¹⁴ VABEs probably play big part here as researchers like all of us have preferences and ideal models in our heads.

Part of the issue here is semantics. By humility here, I mean openness to learning rather than self-effacement or a humble demeanor. Executives who are willing to learn from others are better prepared to foresee problems, to get better options for solutions, and be better prepared ...