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The Humility of Growth

Cuts were made two days ago and guys are transitioning into the ‘storming’ phase of team development. It’s an onslaught for each position and role. Our group is made up of players with varying levels of experience, which becomes apparent as the practices begin to stack up.

Our young players, two sophomores, are extremely talented and hungry to improve. They ask questions and are always engaged in whatever is going on in practice, whether it will pertain to them or not. They care clearly about the team based on their willingness to point out the strengths of their teammates. Their youth breathes life into the group.

Our veterans, four juniors and four seniors, are experienced and confident, but a few of our coaches have started to question their coachability and desire to improve. A few of them have not been receptive to instructions from our assistant coaches. This is a significant concern because it points to a larger issue - a lack of humility. And, humility is one of the most consistent attributes of any successful team.

The issues were addressed individually with players and as the season unfolded, the same guys who were not open to feedback from assistant coaches were the same guys who became stale and stagnant in their growth. And, ultimately, their position and role reflected it.

Why Should We Care?
What does it say about you as a leader if you are only willing to open your mind to situations that mirror your own? If you neglect the vast opportunities to learn and grow, what are you conveying to the people watching you? How will you ever expand your knowledge, broaden your impact, or maximize the potential of your team?

Every leader acknowledges the value of continual growth. However, acknowledging and acting on it are not the same thing. A leader passionate for improvement always displays a few clear habits: they work hard, prepare, and challenge themselves. Think of those as table stakes. 

With a deeper look, we must consider the opportunities for growth we seek out and the ones we dismiss. Afterall, learning will be drastically limited if it is restricted only to happenstance. As such, what we are intentionally watching, reading, and listening to will provide the primary source for our growth. And, everything we dismiss is a missed opportunity.

An interesting observation from the best leaders I’ve ever seen is an irrepressible effort to learn from anyone they encounter. Never does it cross their minds that someone does not offer them the opportunity to learn. Every encounter is a prized learning experience, every person is a potential mentor.

Humility affords us this perspective, just as a lack of humility robs it from us.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
Humility is within us all - deeply hidden in some, but still there. If we have a choice, of course we choose people already displaying it. However, there are times as leaders we are tasked with drawing the humility out of others. Here are a few ideas for tugging on the right strings:

• Embrace Curiosity
  
  • Curiosity conveys a desire for growth. A lack of curiosity conveys a feeling of entitlement, acceptance of stagnation, and an elevated belief in personal status. Treat everyone as a teacher, open all avenues for growth, ask questions and listen to the answers.
    

• Serve Others
  
  • Who should we be serving? Everyone. There may be a hierarchy in your business model, but there isn’t in life. We are neither above nor below anyone else. When we seek the position of a servant, we demonstrate a humility that others can replicate. It is a demonstration of strength, not weakness.
    

• Share Gratitude
  
  • The more we are grateful, the more we see things to be grateful for. The least humble are those who desire to be the recipient of gratitude, but never the giver of it. Regardless of our circumstance, we all have things to be thankful for. Actually, the more challenging our circumstance, the more powerful our acknowledgment of gratitude will be.
    

They say ignorance is bliss. I think self-reliance is too. That is, until it’s not. And, when that switch flips … it’s anything but bliss. The humility to value the potential growth in every experience is central to maximizing ourselves and our leadership impact.

Checkout Surrender the Outcome on Amazon and order The Score That Matters with Ryan Hawk & Brook Cupps. The latest blog from Blue Collar Grit can be found here!