Humility and Leadership

I listened to a podcast this week, and the topic was Leadership and how humility is an important part of Leadership—I have been pondering on this for a few days because I believe there are so many facets to this leadership principle.

It is obvious to us that confidence is important when it comes to leadership, you’ve got to be confident in what you are doing, in who you are, in your ability to lead, and standing your own ground, not someone else's. I think we can all agree that confidence is the name of the game (to a degree) when it comes to leadership (not to be confused with arrogance which is something that deters most people, amiright). Confidence also has a shadow side, it is the truth of not having confidence 110% all the time, and to know that, is to experience vulnerability. Any world leader or true leader will share they had fears, doubts, and lacked confidence in their journey if we did not, we would not grow, we would not understand people and we would not understand challenges and how to navigate and grow.

The greater question is…. How can you be confident, and have humility?

The Podcast never went in that direction but my mind did, and my pondering did, and once again, checks and balances come in to play when it comes to developing confidence and embracing humility. Let’s be clear, humility is not meekness, it is not in the context of meek and/or weak when it comes to leadership. Rather humility is vulnerability, and vulnerability is what humans are made of, at its core it is how we relate. None of us are exempt from vulnerability, we are all vulnerable at various stages of our lives. To understand this and to embrace this builds our character as a leader, it builds our emotional intelligence and it builds strength, strength that is not seen or heard but present as we endure the days in business and/or life that are challenging, that are not aligned with our core values and perhaps the path that we are on. I can think of various stages in my journey as a leader and also in teaching and studying this topic—confidence, vision, communication, action are all important traits—equally thou is the ability to listen, to learn, to lead through emotional intelligence and truly understanding people and leading them with compassion, humility, and heart (this is what more leaders need to learn in the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds).

Leadership is Lifetime. It is broader than business, it is how we lead our lives, our communities, our families, our vision, and how we are of service to others—to be, that is leadership.

I believe the answer at the core of all of this is AUTHENTICITY!

Leaders, share your fears.
Leaders, share your losses.
Leaders, share your mistakes.
Leaders, share your vulnerabilities.
Leaders, share your truth.
Leaders, share your voice.

While we need to be vulnerable, and vulnerability is one of our greatest teachers and partners in humility, we must also work on ourselves to grow, to evolve, to change (without losing ourselves, our core values and who we are).

Let’s balance this out, while vulnerability is our greatest asset in leading people, we must also find our courage, strength, and confidence to take action and move forward in a positive direction.

Leaders, share your vision.
Leaders, share your conviction.
Leaders, share your belief.
Leaders, share your heart.
Leaders, share your love.
Leaders, share your gifts.

Great leaders are also great followers.
Who are you following?
Who are you learning from?
Who are you inspired by?
Who do you look to with an open mind and heart?
Who are the people you surround yourself with, are they authentic, compassionate, empathetic, positive, service-oriented?

Our legacy is not who we become as a leader. Our legacy is who we influence in our leadership. Our leadership is not a title, a pay rank, a popularity contest, or what we have achieved…. Our leadership is our example of who we are, how we treat people, how we show up (even if we don’t some days) and how our voice, life, or actions impact others in a positive way. Creating this perfect authentic storm of vulnerability and vitality in life and in leadership! No matter what you do and how you lead, be sure to lead with love!

XO