bcg blog

Humility Works

Humility is the shortcut.

We do several assignments in our leadership classes in which students are asked to self-evaluate their work. They give themselves points, and a grade, based on how well they feel they performed. The scoring of their work is more of an insight into their thoughts on themselves than it is on their work on that particular assignment.

As I get to know the students more and more throughout the year, there is a clearly consistent theme to the character traits that reveal themselves for the different types of student scoring. Here’s a brief rundown:

• The Oblivious Elitist - this group believes they always do the best work; perhaps it’s because they were always told how special they were growing up or because their standards are so low they are always surpassing them; in either case, their scores are almost all 100% and they think more of themselves, and their work, than anyone else does.
  
• The Dysphoric Pessimist - this group never does anything well and consistently beats themselves up over not performing to the level that they, or others, believe they should; regardless of how well they perform, they refuse to acknowledge their own successes; their scores are always far below what they should be, or more often, they don’t even give themselves a score.
  
• The Humble Realist - this group never gives themselves a perfect score because they know there is always room for improvement but they also recognize the work and progress they’ve made; their scores will vary more based on their preparation, understanding, and performance and consistently reflect their belief in who they are capable of becoming.
  

Why Should We Care?
The application of humility has more impact on our leadership, and impact, than any other attitude, technology, or tool we can find. Humility literally colors every aspect of our leadership and life. When applied, large doses preferred, who we affect, how we affect them, and to what level we affect them are all enhanced.

Humility is welcoming. It draws others to us. As much as we think we like the motivational, charismatic speech that gets our blood pumping, what we realize quickly is that it never lasts and fails to create long term connections. Humility does the opposite. It binds people together, not through a single grand gesture but through a thousand small, seemingly unimportant, acts. It’s the consistency of humility that draws people in.

Humility is transformational, not transactional. It aims for deep connection and significant purpose, not superficial motivation and bravado. Humility sits well with us. It inspires us to become better versions of ourselves. It doesn’t waste time on fleeting motivation. 

Humility prompts work. It’s hard to justify the need to work in the absence of humility. If you’re already good enough, why would you work? Humility impresses on us that we are never as good as we can be. We can always improve, always get better. This should not be mistaken for a lack of confidence. The humble are very confident. Confident in their ability to accept. Confident in their ability to persist. Confident in their ability to appreciate.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
Growing humility is not an easy thing to do. Just when we think we’re getting good at it - poof, we’re no longer humble. Here are a few ideas to help you think about how you may be able to grow your humility.

• Sweep the Shed 
  
  • Do something every day that others may view as ‘beneath you’. Sweep the floor, pick up trash, run the errand … and, while you’re doing it, think about all the things you have to be thankful for in doing it.
    

• Say Thank You
  
  • Thankful Thursday is an awesome way to practice this. Every Thursday write three thank you cards to people that have had a positive impact on you the previous week. Send a text to two people you are thankful for letting them know how much you appreciate them. Call one person that you haven’t talked to recently and tell them ‘Thank you’.
    

• Give It Away
  
  • There’s a good chance you don’t need half of what you have - clothes, shoes, things … give some stuff away. Find something someone else needs that you have and give it to them. Do it anonymously if you can.
    

Humility is the shortcut. It’s also the only way to be our best and to have the transformational impact we aspire to have on the people we lead. We need to humble ourselves before someone else does it for us.

For more information on building excellence in your teams, visit us at www.bluecollargrit.com. 
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