On Humility

Recently at meeting with an HR head, the conversation veered to the subject of leadership and Jim Collins' take on it - specifically about his concept of  the Level 5 hierarchy of Leadership.

According to Collins,  Level 5 leadership is about humility and fierce resolve. These leaders manifest humility by routinely crediting others, the external factors and good luck with their companies success.But when results are poor they blame themselves.

However, the HR head thought differently. He believed there was no way that humility could be an essential ingredient to success as a leader. Though he did not say so explicitly, he probably meant that success as a leader breeds more arrogance than humility and is not necessarily a deterrent. So firm was in this belief, that he said he intended to do a PhD on the subject and prove Collins wrong! I daresay this observation and conviction left me bemused.

Soon after the meeting with the HR head, I came across an interesting insight on humility by Clayton M. Christiansen, the professor of Business Admin at Harvard University in the July-August issue of the HBR.. The professor had been invited to speak to the Class of 2010, because the financial meltdown had forced the students to recalibrate their careers in view of the changed business world they would be entering. In his talk, Professor Christiansen's  touched upon the importance of humility in the life of a successful leader. 

The professor began by asking all the students to describe the most humble person they knew. One characteristic of these humble people stood out: They had a high level of self-esteem. They knew who they were. The students also decided that humility was defined not by self deprecating behaviour or attitudes but by the self-esteem with which you regard others. "Good behaviour flows naturally from that kind of humility....Generally, you can be humble only if you feel good about yourself - and you want to help those around you feel really good about themselves too."

The HR head's take on humility had left me bemused  and wondering about the importance of humility in the success of a leader. The article helped me to place humility in context and realize the importance of  Jim Collins' findings of the attributes of a successful leader.