The Busy Leader's Handbook

4Quiet the Ego and Lead with Humility

Great leadership is not always about being “right.” In fact, it rarely is. The leader’s job is to bring out the best in employees and to engage them in working together to do what’s best for the company. This cannot happen when a leader is too attached to their own ideas or convinced that they are the smartest person in the room. That’s why humility is one of the most important traits a leader can have.

Let’s start by getting past the notion that humility is about being meek or submissive or thinking you aren’t good enough. It’s none of these things. We can take pride in our work and have confidence in abilities and also be humble. Humility is about seeing oneself as one truly is. We know our strengths and our weaknesses. When we’re good at something and we receive a compliment, we don’t deny it. When we make light of our skills it can make others feel bad. Rather, we’re grateful that we’re in a position to help others develop that strength.

Leading with humility is about taking oneself out of the center of the equation, about keeping the spotlight on others. It’s about quieting the ego so we’re open to learning and we’re focused on continuous improvement and growth.

Humble leaders don’t assume they have all the answers. They know that an inflated ego can cause them to make bad decisions and lead the team down the wrong path. Also, it can alienate employees rather than engaging them, create dependency rather than ownership, and promote ...