1.
CEOs Would Do
Well to Give
Humility a
Chance
Joel Landau
www.JoelLandau.com

2.
The CEOs that get the most press are
strong personalities, firm and
unapologetic in their beliefs and
leadership styles. These leaders motivate
others with aggression and charisma. But
there’s another, less-discussed quality
that pays off for business leaders:
humility. Effective leaders might be
charming or fearsome or both, but the
most effective CEOs can also admit to
their mistakes and learn from others. And
while these qualities are less likely to be
highlighted in the profiles we read or the
TV segments we watch, humility can
make or break a CEO.

3.
Humility means many things. It involves
minimizing status differences, listening to
subordinates, soliciting input, recognizing
your own weaknesses or knowledge
gaps, admitting mistakes, and being
flexible enough to change course when
an idea or strategy doesn’t pan out. It
means valuing thoughtfulness and
consideration over ego and truly
embracing collaboration.

4.
Leaders that are able to show vulnerability and
deference towards others have an easier time
attracting and retaining quality talent. When
CEOs lead with a stick, employees don’t feel
appreciated and won’t stay with the company
long-term. And, in a job market like today’s,
where employers are experiencing a massive
talent crunch, your ability or inability to retain
talent has an enormous impact on your
organization’s success. This is particularly true
of senior management teams. A highly
experienced executive charged with setting
corporate strategy isn’t going to tolerate an
environment where they don’t have a voice or
feel respected, and this problem hobbles
organizations — quickly.

5.
A number of studies now support the argument
for leading with humility. Corporate growth
expert Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” study tracked
close to 1,500 Fortune 500 companies over a 30-
year period, deducing that those that were able
to improve over time and maintain a higher
performance had leaders that displayed two
characteristics: humility and a commitment to
organizational excellence. Another study,
entitled “Do humble CEOs matter?,” examined
105 IT companies and found that the more
humble a CEO, the more collaborative and
cooperative the senior leadership team, resulting
in stronger firm performance. And, a global
Catalyst study found that when employees
observed selfless behavior in their managers,
they felt more included in their work teams.
These feelings of inclusion led to more
innovation, more work output, greater
efficiencies, and better teamwork.

6.
The organizational success guru Dr. Robert Hogan believes that charismatic but
hard-charging CEOs like the Steve Jobs of the world are actually successful
despite themselves. Hogan points to the fact that Apple’s performance improved
after Jobs left as evidence for his theory. Conversely, companies like Google and
Rockwell Automation, which have embraced dialogue and altruistic leadership
within their organizations, continue to reap maximum rewards.

7.
Get Curious
Effective leaders are lifetime learners. They often
set aside time to read widely and they also make
a concerted effort to learn from those around
them. You don’t need to have all the answers.
After all, in a global marketplace where
challenges are increasingly complex, no one
person can. Leadership is about working together
to problem-solve, and understanding that your
go-to team should be as diverse as possible. It’s
now well-documented that diverse teams are
more creative, therefore ambitious CEOs should
go above and beyond to surround themselves
with people of differing skill sets, competencies,
backgrounds, cultures and genders. The more
willing you are to learn from others, the more
open you’ll be to new ideas, viewpoints and
creative solutions that could take your business to
the next level.
Leaders should take
steps to infuse humility
into their leadership
style. Here’s how you
can become a more
humble leader:

8.
Get Feedback
If you’re interested in upping your leadership
game, schedule opportunities to solicit
employee feedback regularly. Making a
concerted effort to do this keeps your
employees more engaged and satisfied. It
also helps you develop a better
understanding of your strengths and
weaknesses. Knowing the types of decisions
and activities that you need the most help
with is invaluable to you and your
organization. It gives you a roadmap of
competencies that you can work to bolster
and, more importantly, it enables you to
identify others within your organization
whose strengths balance your weaknesses.
Oftentimes, the most valuable thing a leader
can do is learning to ask the right questions
of the right people.

9.
Get Honest
You don’t need to be perfect, but you do need to
be honest. This entails owning up to mistakes and
being willing to apologize when your judgement
or behavior has been problematic. We are all
human and fallible, and showing your own
imperfections and vulnerability makes you more
relatable. In fact, sharing your mistakes as
teachable moments showcases both your
personal growth and your humanity. Honesty
allows for trust and inspiration, and studies have
found numerous correlations between a leader’s
perceived behavioral integrity and employee
performance. In fact, teams that work for leaders
whom they perceive to be honest are more
satisfied with their jobs, experience less
absenteeism, are less stressed, and report greater
overall health and well-being.

10.
Get Off Your Pedestal
Embrace key elements of Servant Leadership by
developing a more selfless leadership style. Servant-
leaders share power with others. They empower those
around them to learn and grow, and they’re willing to
follow the lead of their colleagues when appropriate.
Employees that are given ownership over their areas of
responsibility are more engaged. And helping others
become more competent leaders ensures that your
organization can perform at its peak. A Servant
Leadership mentality also makes you more aware of what
you’re asking of others and keeps you from asking them
to do tasks or make sacrifices that you yourself wouldn’t
be willing to undertake. It encourages CEOs to lead by
example and to embody the change they hope to spark
within their employees. When your colleagues see you
rolling up your sleeves and helping with initiatives across
all levels of the organization, they’ll be more willing to do
the same. Servant Leadership cultures promote
satisfaction, collaboration, trust, and productivity. People
will care more about their jobs, each other, and about
meeting your expectations.

11.
We live in a world that is preoccupied
with celebrity and eccentricity, which is
part of the reason why the Elon Musks
and Steve Jobs of the world have been
painted as iconic leaders. The other
factor is that humble leaders are, by
definition, less engaged in self-
promotion, so we simply don’t hear
about them as much. But humility is a
leadership strength, not a weakness. It
takes tremendous courage and effort
to lead by example. And hopefully, as
more companies begin to reimagine
and redefine effective leadership, our
cultural obsession with egomaniacal
leaders will shift.

12.
THANK YOU!
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