The Foundation of Humble Leadership

Search for 'Humble Leadership' in Google and you'll pull 29MM hits. Also mixed with terms like 'servant leadership' and 'human focused leadership', it's all the rage in in business consulting and training circles. Yet, anytime a new model, theory, or methodology gains traction in the market, there is danger of it becoming more catchphrase or idea, rather than actual mode of delivery. The downside of this is a glossing over of what type of positive impact something like humble leadership can provide or worse, fail to recognize it when we see it.

To help with this, and because words have meaning, let's explore the foundation of what it means to be humble.

According to the dictionary, humble means:

hum·ble/ˈhəmbəl

• having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance.

Important to note is that this is humble as an adjective, which is a modifier or describer of a noun; in our particular case, a leader. So applying the adjective definition of Humble to our noun, we can then get:

• having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance AS A LEADER

Like many words, humble carries both an adjective and verb definition. Consider the verb of humble and we start to change our framing as it relates to leadership, while also pushing us on an exploratory path to history.

Humble as a verb:

• to lower (someone) in dignity or importance.

How did we get here: Scientific Management

Historically, leadership had a much different tone, associated more strongly with the verb, rather than the adjective. Leadership was, and is, power and direction. How that power is used to set direction though, is different. In power plays, the verb carries more weight, with frequent application of lowering others in dignity or importance. After all, those on a lower hierarchical standing, are simply pieces to an overall puzzle, easily replaceable.

Much of this is in thanks to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of mass production. Where prior, power was at the hands of the skilled laborers who managed their own unique craft, at their own unique timeline, mass production replaced individualism within the workplace with cogs in the wheel. It was here that the first modern leadership theory was born at the hands of Frederick Taylor, who in 1911, published his book: 'The Principles of Scientific Management'.

'Taylorism', as Scientific Management is sometimes called, championed the cause for managers to dissect and segment manufacturing process (and its people) into small repetitive tasks. Once defined and designed, a process should be defended at all costs, regardless of who was in seat. From a management perspective, Taylorism focuses on process ruling over people, the people only as valuable as how they performed (activity #'s) within their small delegated task.

Some have critiqued Scientific Management as overly bureaucratic, demotivating and creativity killers for employees. Yet, its roots are not only in modern MBA programs but much of the perfected process's which make streamlined workflows possible at companies like Amazon or McDonald's. Enterprise SaaS selling environments often apply concepts of Taylor's Scientific Management as well. These places have a clearly defined, tested, and proven method to their madness, with a right-way and wrong-way, and little to no in-between. As such, there is exceptional training to ensure that the process stays consistent from one person to the other, almost guaranteeing success.

Humble Beginnings

Be it a global economy of distributed workers, the diversity and complexity of the work itself, or the talent driven market, the environments of which top down Tayloristic leadership are, if not diminishing, changing. In many organization's the field level workers possess a greater knowledge and stake in the product and ever-evolving process itself, than the leaders above them.The path to production is driven similarly to what we had seen prior to the industrial revolution, in the trusted hands of the skilled trades(wo)man. Different than a manufacturing floor where each widget fits in only its unique place, at a unique time, many digital products built today can be done with a multitude of approaches, less, right OR wrong and more, this OR that. Where once a manager needed to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of a team member under threat of being replaced with one which looked just like them and would do the job, exactly the same, a manager today needs to truly understand how and why their team members approach their work in the way in which they do, to squeeze every ounce of creativity, curiosity and collaboration from them, all while performing the ultimate humble leadership flex, self-committed accountability to the shared goals. In other words, successful humble leaders are gaining buy-in.

Humble Leadership Defined

Revisiting our adjective definition of humble, we can then determine that a Humble Leader is one who:

• presents a lower estimate of their own importance, so as to empower those actually below them to do the work which you, as the leader, have been selected to direct

It's a delicate transaction built on trust, one which can only be gained through deep investigation and investment in your people. Unlike, many organizations who house leaders who lack the self awareness (or humility) to understand where their knowledge stops and where their employee's knowledge begins, a humble leader is looking to bridge that gap, creating cultures of collaboration.

As a humble leader, it should be one of your early priorities to take deep personal and professional inventory of your team.

Easy first steps would be to learn:

Where have they been before where they are now?

• Likely, you have been tasked with guiding the organization through a valley. Your team member's past experience, success and/or failure, shapes what they bring to the table (your table) today. It's critical to understand where and how they have been tested before and calling upon that experience when necessary.

Where do they want to go from here?

• There goals may take them outside of your oversight or even outside of your company. Is it not still your job to support them? In doing so, you're tapping into otherwise unknown motivation, all while building an environment which attracts people with a growth mindset. Your support of their success for tomorrow is a badge you can proudly display.

What drives them?

• Leave your assumptions at the door. I know plenty of sales people who list money NOT as their number one driver, yet are wildly successful and making loads of money. These people are simply driven differently. As my uncle liked to say, 'everyone needs a carrot'. So when investigating your people, ask yourself: what's their carrot?

Who influences them?

• Cultures are built on people, their history, their interactions, their beliefs. To understand your people, you must also understand the people around them. Likely, they are being shaped by influences that while outside of your control, are indirect contributors to your team member's success.

Who do THEY influence?

• Similar to the above, your people are influencing others within the business. You may have a key culture driver on your team. Gain their buy-in, and they'll gain others for you.

What are their skillsets, and where are they stronger than yours?

• You've been put into your position for a reason, perhaps it was because you were successful in the role with which you now direct, perhaps it was because of your ability to inspire and lead others. That doesn't mean that the role you had before isn't different today and while inspiration is a valuable tool, you still need people to swing that hammer on the nail. Dig in to the skillsets of your team, identify strengths, weaknesses, consider how each match with your own. On paper, that compilation may look like an island of misfit toys and likely, there isn't a complete player onboard. That though, is the magic of a good chef, knowing you may not have the exact ingredients you want but still using the limited ingredients in front of you to make a complete meal.

It is through these exercises that a humble leader is recognizing and acknowledging with others, that no one can/should go it alone.

As Dan Cable, of the Harvard Business Review, touches on:

• Servant-leaders have the humility, courage, and insight to admit that they can benefit from the expertise of others who have less power than them. They actively seek the ideas and unique contributions of the employees that they serve.

In the end, it's still a numbers game. You're just maximizing different types of values. The power of your formula is knowing that the unknowns are largely your own, but the equation still works. Yet until you truly know your people, their value, which has been battle tested through a life and previous career outside of yours, will be a mystery hidden by your own ignorance.

Though played out in a professional environment, these talking points are at the root of all healthy relationships. A humble leader would be remiss to not seek a deeper connection with their team, while simultaneously identifying hidden talent ready to make a positive and innovative impact on the business.

To go back to what Dan Cable says:

• 'Leaders often do not see the true value of their charges, especially “lower-level” workers. But when leaders are humble, show respect, and ask how they can serve employees as they improve the organization, the outcomes can be outstanding. And perhaps even more important than better company results, servant leaders get to act like better human beings.'

Respected people are purposed people. Empowered by an increased voice and a freedom to fail, knowing their spotter has their back. Purposed people can move mountains...will you get out of the way?

-sam

If you'd like to talk about how to apply humble leadership, reach out to me