What do you think is the most important leadership quality?
I get that question frequently when working with groups on leadership development. The options for answers are numerous: confidence, decisiveness, vision, communication skills, and the list goes on. My answer may surprise you. I think that the most important leadership quality is humility.
I am a very confident person, but I learned a long time ago that I did not have the market cornered on good ideas. There’s always a chance that you may not be the smartest person in the room. Recognizing that, I got better at listening to others. As leaders, we have the responsibility of deciding which way to go, but by opening up to others’ ideas, we’re exposed to more information so that we can make the best, most-informed decisions.
During my third tour in Iraq, we started operating in an area that no American nor any of our allies had set foot in for several years. We had no intelligence network there and thus very little understanding of the threats and opportunities. That’s when one of our youngest Soldiers suggested that If we had no intelligence network, we needed to do some operations solely to get the bad guys to react. Based on what they did and what we’d learn from it, we could start to build our intelligence. Instead of using intelligence to drive operations, we would be doing the opposite. We planned and conducted a series of mobile checkpoint operations on all the main roads in our area. All of the checkpoints were short-duration and teams were inserted and extracted by helicopter. The purpose was not to find any bad guys by checking the passengers in cars; it was to get all the phone networks to light up…and we would have all of our collection systems focused on those areas. Frankly, it was a brilliant idea and it worked perfectly.
The culture created by my boss fostered this sort of innovation because above all, he listened to others and valued what they offered. That’s what humility is all about.
People often confuse modesty with humility, but I think Maya Angelou said it best: “You don’t want modesty, you want humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”
Humility is not modesty and humble leaders can certainly exude confidence. I recently accompanied a team from the Arizona Game and Fish Department as they darted, took biological samples, and collared a bunch of elk. The purpose of the study included long-term monitoring and tracking of movements. The person actually in charge was the regional supervisor, but she delegated all decision-making to her wildlife manager in that particular area. He planned the capture, supervised execution, and directed all others in their actions. The regional supervisor jumped in and helped out, but she did not “take over.” In this case, humility led to effective delegation and a great developmental opportunity for one of her subordinate leaders.
Arrogance, by the way, is not exactly the opposite of humility but its pretty close. Arrogant leaders lack humility (they always thing they’re the smartest person in the room) and they have an inflated view of themselves. They frequently make sub-optimal decisions because they tend to be limited by their own gray matter.
The higher you go in any organization, the more others want to hear what you have to say. I’ve noticed it also becomes more important to listen. A friend often says: “Never pass up an opportunity to shut the hell up.” If I really want to hear what others think, I can’t start out with “Here’s what I think…what do you think?” When I start out with my own thoughts (even though I certainly have them), it can shut down others. Instead, I just start with “What do you think?”
Here’s how to apply authentic humility in your leadership role:
1. Accept that regardless of how smart you are, you don’t have every answer to every problem.
2. Develop your listening skills. Ask for others’ ideas and focus on really listening to what they have to say, maybe even take notes.
3. Make a decision and own it. Share your logic with others. They will learn from you and appreciate that you listened to their ideas, even if you did not follow their suggestions.
Humble leaders can be decisive, confident, and bold risk-takers. They also tend to make better decisions than leaders who thought they had all the answers.
The next time you’re in a tough situation and everybody is looking to you for guidance, you might want to starting by asking: “What do you think?”
Arizona Game and Fish Commission - Patagonia