Humble leaders inspire commitment. Prideful leaders settle for compliance.
Pride is the number one cause of character failures for leaders. We see pride win out in Washington with our politicians, at work with our leaders, and at home within relationships. Pride is in all of us and will win the battles if we do not prepare ourselves.
If you are going to compete, you’d better start practicing and getting in shape for the approaching contest. Coaches always tell athletes, “The way you practice determines the way you will play on gameday.”
When it comes to winning against your pride/ego, how are your practices going? The choices you make between pride and Humility will determine how you show up on gameday when the stakes are high. You have to exercise Humility in the daily practice of life in order to be prepared when it is game time.
We define Humility as “Believing and acting like ‘It’s not about me.’”
Here are three tests a leader needs to pass in order to practice Humility.
- Shut up and listen: Most leaders talk too much. God gave you two ears and one mouth. Use them proportionately. When people know a leader is actually listening, they buy into the leader, even if they are not going to get their way. They feel important when the leader is humble enough to hear tough feedback.
- Admit when you’re wrong: Every leader is wrong sometimes. But few leaders have the Humility or the Courage to admit it. When you are willing to say, “I was wrong. I’m sorry.” You build your credibility with others, and you set the example for others when it comes to Integrity and accountability.
- Don’t fight to win: The need to win an argument is a pride issue. The goal should be to find a solution. When the goal is to win, the other person may walk away compliant, but they are rarely committed. If we fight to find a solution instead of fighting to win, we set our pride aside for the good of the team or the relationship.
Humble leaders inspire commitment. Prideful leaders settle for compliance. Compliance from a team, a partner, or a child is a short-term and arrogant way to get things done.
By practicing Humility, we are prepared to finally beat our enemy – pride – on game day.
Question:
- How often do you practice Humility?
- Which of these tests will you face this week?
