In 2012, two researchers from The University of Colorado, Bradley Owens and David Heckman, published the results of their study looking at how humility influences leadership and why the humblest leaders are often the most respected.
Their results? Humility is, without a doubt, contagious and spreads through a team quickly. However, unlike a virus, humility produces a measurable increase in a team’s effectiveness. While I haven’t seen a study of arrogance, I bet it would prove the exact opposite.
More recently, in 2014, workplace advocacy group, Catalyst, conducted a study and found that humility is one of four critical leadership factors in creating a diverse workplace.
According to the results of a survey of more than 1,500 workers from around the world, a humble leader:
Here are my top 5 favorite strategies to practice humility:
- Self Awareness – Mastering awareness of self is a game changer. First evaluate your strengths and your weaknesses. Ask for feedback and be open to changing the behaviors that get in the way of producing great results.
- Avoid judgment – Most of us tend to be quick to judge others based on our beliefs, labels, and cultural upbringing. If you lead, you must support, enable and elevate others. Have you noticed those who judge rarely elevate others and those who elevate others rarely judge? Get curious!
- Own your mistakes – It’s never fun to admit you’ve messed up. However, when you share your mistakes with your team, work on a combined solution and share the lessons learned so your team will trust you. Immediately.
- Praise the team – Your success is the result of the work of your team, and their success is the result of your leadership. A humble leader never takes credit for the team’s success; instead she pays attention to the team’s strengths and develops their weak areas.
- Avoid reactionary responses – This is about moving from a reactive state; for example, anger, exasperation, frustration to a proactive state: embracing curiosity, solution-based thinking, brainstorming. This is not about never being angry but rather about managing the way you respond to others.
Leaders that practice humility are more influential, attract better players, earn their team’s trust and command respect in any room.
Are you ready to go to the next level of leadership? f you are ready, contact me to schedule a conversation that could change your leadership style at http://maricarmenpizarro.com/contact-mari-carmen/
