A Management Knowledgeable Says the Trait We Mistake for Weak point Can Make Firms Extra Profitable
Humility has a branding problem. Here’s how smart leaders can fix it.
EXPERT OPINION BY ROBYN D. SHULMAN
We tend to admire business confidence. Certainty sells, and strong, loud opinions draw attention. Leaders are often rewarded for appearing to have the answer, even when the smartest answer might be, “I could be wrong.” Humility, by comparison, has terrible branding.
We associate humility with modesty, deference, self-effacement, or quietly giving everyone else credit. Admirable, perhaps, but not entirely advantageous in business.
However, Ethan Willis, whose new book Humble Power is a USA Today bestseller, believes we have humility backward. Willis, a leadership expert, entrepreneur, and former co-author with Ken Blanchard of The One-Minute Entrepreneur, has spent several decades studying the difference between humility and ego.
Humility isn’t a weakness
Willis’ conclusion is not that confidence is a problem, but that humility can make confidence more accurate, and that can lead to more useful outcomes in our business, community, and personal lives.
Refreshed leadership advice from CEO Stephanie Mehta
“Humility isn’t a weakness,” he says. “It’s a multiplier of our strengths.” Willis maintains that confidence and humility are not opposites. Confidence says, “I know what I can do.” Humility is the counterpart that adds, “and I know there are things I don’t know.” This is where competitive advantages begin, and where effective leaders can have a significant impact in the workplace.
Ego makes smart people less accurate
One of the most interesting ideas in Willis’ research is that ego not only makes people unpleasant; it also distorts the information they’re willing to accept. When our identity becomes attached to “being right,” contradictory information no longer seems useful. It feels like a threat, and that’s when all critical thinking goes out the window.
Willis says, “Feedback becomes information, not criticism—and then our identity is no longer tied to defending what we already believe.”
Source: www.inc.com
