What is humility in leadership?

Practicing humility, one of the key leader values, doesn’t mean becoming insecure. Instead, it’s about maintaining a healthy balance of confidence and self-awareness.

Good managers and leaders demonstrate humility in leadership through their ability to recognize their equality with their peers and colleagues and remain open to employees’ and team members’ feedback. This openness will ultimately help ordinary leaders grow into great leaders.

Traits of humble leaders

The following are several characteristics of humble leaders that you can incorporate into your leadership style:

Accepts accountability

Leaders who practice humility know that they need to be accountable to their team and stakeholders to achieve their goals. As part of strategic leadership, it’s not in their interest to take credit for their team’s accomplishments or evade responsibility for their failures.

Instead, they are focused on the task at hand and will do whatever it takes to succeed. You can develop this trait by learning to accept and admit your mistakes and committing to learning from them.

Actively seeks feedback from the team

Effective leadership depends on applying feedback and constructive criticism from others. It is important to provide and receive effective feedback among your team in order to gather proper evaluation and improve productivity in the workplace.

Demonstrate humility in leadership by seeking out feedback from your colleagues and applying that feedback to make improvements, develop plans and implement strategies that help the business meet its objectives.

Knows how to listen

Humble leaders know that to be effective, they must allow others to share their thoughts and ideas. This not only makes the team more effective, it can also make the team more cohesive. Through active listening, leaders can learn from others and work collaboratively with them, in turn building relationships and fostering collaboration within the team.

When team members feel their opinions are valued, they will be more likely to work harder and be more committed to the team’s success.

Shows respect to their peers

Practicing humility also involves promoting respect as a standard in the workplace. Humble leaders show respect to all of their team members, no matter the employee’s role in the organization. Remember, your personal opinions about an employee are less important than the need to show humility through respect.

Respect your team by listening to their concerns and ideas, reaffirming their contribution to the organization, and being polite and grateful for their contributions.

Recognizes limitations

Humble leaders continuously improve themselves to become better leaders, such as recognizing when they need additional assistance and by delegating tasks to their teams. You can develop your ability to recognize your limitations when you take on a large project with multiple facets.

Consider which tasks you have time for, then delegate to your team, ask for support and seek out extra resources when you need to.

Benefits of humility in your business

Practicing humility in leadership has more advantages than you may realize. These are some of the benefits:

Boosts employee morale

When you demonstrate leadership humility, your employees are likely to follow your lead, which can help boost their morale. As you listen to your team, remain open to feedback and build trust with your employees. This process shows employees that you value and respect them, increasing their satisfaction in their jobs.

Empowers team members

Practicing humility empowers your team by showing that you value their ideas and believe they contribute to the growth of the business. For instance, when you hold team meetings, ask for input from all employees. Employees who feel valued are more likely to want to help your business achieve its goals.

Promotes a positive work culture

As a leader, the goal is to inspire everyone to practice humility through consideration, gratitude and kindness, which ultimately contributes to building a positive work environment where employees are motivated and feel comfortable contributing new ideas. A positive work culture is one where employees feel valued and respected.

Encourages open communication

When employees trust in you, they’re more likely to engage in open communication, offer input and ideas, and raise questions and concerns when they feel they need to. This can result in new solutions or processes, which can make your business more successful.

Fosters helpful behaviors

Humility in the workplace can encourage your employees to be more helpful in the day-to-day processes of the business. For instance, encouraging humility through openness and honesty can increase an employee’s desire and willingness to go out of their way to help a coworker, which can speed up production workflows.

Supports healthy work relationships

Humility can also improve the way team members build relationships with each other. With respect, kindness and an open-minded approach to interactions in the workplace, employees can be more successful in building and maintaining healthy friendships with their colleagues. When your employees enjoy working together, they can often accomplish group tasks faster.

Increases productivity

There are several ways in which humility in the workplace can increase productivity: employees are more likely to take feedback and criticism seriously, are less concerned with their ego and work better together as a team. When humble leaders lead by example, open-mindedness allows team members to consider new ideas and strategies, which may ultimately increase overall productivity.

Frequently asked questions about leadership humility

Why is humility important in leadership?

Humility has long been considered an important leadership characteristic because it allows leaders to put the needs of others before their own. Although arrogant leaders may have initial success, they are unlikely to be as successful in the long run, because humble leaders respect their peers and take feedback seriously, which boosts the productivity of a team and results in a higher quality of work.

How is humility related to self-confidence?

Having humility allows you to develop a realistic view of yourself. As you become more aware of your strengths and weaknesses, you can recognize the possibility of constantly improving yourself. In addition to achieving personal growth, leaders who practice humility are also more likely to inspire trust and respect among peers.

How can humility not be taken advantage of?

Bear in mind that humility doesn’t imply weakness or passive behavior. Humble leaders know their worth and can set proper boundaries for their peers, generating respect while still being able to take advantage of the benefits of humility in the workplace.

How do you start fostering humility in the workplace?

Fostering humility in the workplace begins with leaders. When leaders practice humility, they can put their team and company goals first. This type of leadership builds trust among team members, creating a more positive work environment, which in turn motivates everyone to be more productive.