Humility in leadership is a component of respect
Whenever I think about Lean Culture, my mind focusses on the two pillars of Continuous Improvement and Respect for People. From these pillars come behaviours. Humility in leadership is a manifestation of respect for people, for individuals.
I can still picture the scene, many years later, as if it was yesterday. It has always stuck in my mind as a true example of humility in leadership. It might have taken me a while to adopt this specific behaviour, but it has certainly reinforced the potency of that scene all these years later.
After a meeting in a satellite office, the CEO of the organisation leaves to return to his vehicle. I see him from the conference room on the second floor, walking along the side of the road to where he parked, some distance from the office. There are no pavements and often parking is on rough ground. Here is an office with parking spaces above and below ground, often all taken, but occasionally ‘important’ people either have allocated spaces or call in favours for preferential parking. I’ve done it, perhaps not demanded, but expectantly waiting for a space to be offered. Not our CEO, he was humble enough to park without inconveniencing anybody else or expecting special treatment.
More recently, this same office with those same parking challenges, I realised I can follow this simple, yet powerful, example. If there is a parking space, I am grateful. If there is no parking space, I drive to the nearby areas like everybody else, like the CEO did many years ago.Developing our own awareness, or mindfulness, of our behaviours and how they map to a culture of respecting people and continuous improvement comes from reflection. It comes from being humble to recognise true leadership traits in others, learning from them, and most importantly, emulating them or practising them in our own way.
Take a moment to think about ways you might demonstrate your humility. Perhaps reflect on occasions when you were not humble, then look to test your counter-measures?
