[00:00:01] Hi and welcome back to Reflect Forward. I'm your host Kerry Siggins and I'm so glad you
[00:00:14] were here today. Today I want to talk about how to lead with less ego, more humility,
[00:00:20] so that you can lead your team to success. I believe that humility is such a key factor
[00:00:27] in effective teamwork but it's often neglected. A lot of us are thinking like we have to
[00:00:31] lead, we have to get things done, we have to move it forward, we have to achieve goals
[00:00:35] and we might not think of the impact that being a humble leader really can have on your
[00:00:42] team and on the company. That being said, for us leaders promoting humility within our
[00:00:47] teams and ourselves is not just about being humble or modest, it's really about creating
[00:00:53] that base for a stronger, more resilient, more adaptive team. So that's what we're
[00:00:58] going to talk about this week in Reflect Forward. We're going to talk about the
[00:01:01] transformative power of humility and how it can dramatically enhance team dynamics,
[00:01:06] improve performance and foster innovation. Hey who knew that humility was such a thing?
[00:01:10] I also talk about why humility is such an essential tool for you as a leader and offer
[00:01:16] practical tips on how to integrate this virtue into your everyday leadership. So let's hop in.
[00:01:22] So the first thing I want to address is confidence versus humility. I have heard
[00:01:28] this misconception that humility and confidence are mutually exclusive and that is not true.
[00:01:34] The most effective leaders absolutely know that true confidence comes from being secure
[00:01:41] enough to recognize your strengths and weaknesses, to admit your mistakes. These type of leaders
[00:01:46] maintain their self-assurance while also being humble enough to realize that they
[00:01:49] don't have all the answers because let's face it as leaders we don't have all the
[00:01:53] answers and this balance really encourages a more inclusive culture and team environment where every
[00:01:59] member feels valued and empowered to contribute, driving the collective success of the company
[00:02:05] forward without diminishing your decisiveness and assertiveness and your authenticity as
[00:02:13] leaders. And so I wanted to address that perhaps elephant in the room because I think
[00:02:17] that a lot of people really do attribute humility to modesty and that's not true.
[00:02:23] I am definitely not a modest person. I put myself out there. I try to share ideas. I
[00:02:28] am assertive but a hundred percent I lead with humility. I know I don't have all the
[00:02:34] answers and I am willing to say it. I admit when I make mistakes. I actively seek feedback
[00:02:39] and that's how you build trust. You be transparent about who you are, where your
[00:02:44] shortcomings are and you still can have confidence to really step up as a leader and
[00:02:50] assert yourself and to make those tough decisions that we leaders all need to make.
[00:02:55] So I wanted to talk a little bit about that balancing confidence with humility. Yes,
[00:03:00] we can be overconfident and that's where we step into letting our ego drive us but
[00:03:04] a hundred percent we do not have to diminish our self-confidence just to be able to
[00:03:09] show that we're humble. Humble leaders understand that they have strengths and
[00:03:13] weaknesses and are willing to admit their mistakes, are willing to ask questions,
[00:03:17] they're willing to change their mind. That is what that balance looks like.
[00:03:21] So now let's jump into why humility really matters for a beaters.
[00:03:25] According to a Harvard Business Review report, teams led by individuals who
[00:03:30] exhibited humility who were perceived as being humble beaters experience a 55%
[00:03:36] increase in performance compared to those organizations led by less humble
[00:03:41] leaders. So it matters. A 55% increase in performance, well that's because people
[00:03:46] feel engaged and empowered and they like where they work. People who don't
[00:03:51] feel those things and hate where they work tend to not be engaged in what
[00:03:56] they do and tend to not be as productive. So humility matters. It
[00:04:00] absolutely sets the tone for your organization. Why? Because humble leaders
[00:04:05] promote a culture of learning when they acknowledge that they don't have
[00:04:09] all the answers. And when you admit that you don't have all the answers it
[00:04:12] encourages your team to speak up, to contribute their ideas, their expertise,
[00:04:18] their knowledge and this helps innovation thrive. I do this all the
[00:04:22] time at StoneAge. I'm not sure how to handle this. What would you do?
[00:04:25] And I get really innovative great responses. It shows that I care, that
[00:04:31] I don't have to have all the answers, that I'm humble enough to say I'm
[00:04:34] not sure how we should do this. What do you think? And people really
[00:04:38] appreciate it. So asking those questions, admitting that you don't have all the
[00:04:42] answers absolutely enhances team collaboration and it creates that
[00:04:47] culture of trust and openness. Humble leaders also recognize and develop
[00:04:51] their talent and this is really important. We need to be able to
[00:04:55] attract and retain talent and people who work for those with big egos who
[00:05:00] only care about themselves tend to not feel like they are getting the
[00:05:04] personal and professional development that they seek in the workplace. So a
[00:05:08] humble leader who recognizes my team is so amazing and I want to make sure that
[00:05:12] I'm helping them be successful as possible and I'm going to do
[00:05:15] everything I can to develop them absolutely is going to retain those
[00:05:20] team members more. In fact a study by Forbes recently showed that companies
[00:05:25] led by humble people report a 20% higher rate of employee satisfaction
[00:05:29] and 30% stronger willingness among employees to take on big important
[00:05:35] performance challenges. So this is really important when you lead with
[00:05:38] humility, you create that safe space, you help people flourish, you are
[00:05:43] focused on developing other people and really being that servant leader. And
[00:05:48] lastly humble leaders are more likely to ask for to actively seek
[00:05:52] feedback and actually hear it. They adapt their strategies based on
[00:05:56] what's most effective rather than being so rigidly tied to their
[00:06:00] original ideas. I think that this is really important. You know how I'm
[00:06:04] a believer in feedback. If you want to be a great leader you got to seek
[00:06:07] feedback and you got to take action with it. You've got to admit when
[00:06:10] you're wrong, you've got to be willing to pivot when you get this
[00:06:13] kind of feedback that shows that you are leading with humility. All
[00:06:19] right so now let's jump into the challenges to humility and leadership
[00:06:23] because despite its significant benefits humility is often a rare
[00:06:28] commodity in today's business place. I mean let's face it we see these
[00:06:32] types of leaders that lead with ego all around us and oftentimes they're
[00:06:36] celebrated. We associate leadership with strong assertive decisive
[00:06:40] characteristics which translates in this perception that leaders have to be
[00:06:44] in control all the time or infallible and they can never show
[00:06:48] weaknesses. So when leaders feel like they can never show weaknesses
[00:06:52] they are not willing to be vulnerable to say hey I made a
[00:06:56] mistake and really practice humility through vulnerability. There's also
[00:07:01] this widespread misconception that humility undermines authority or
[00:07:06] credibility within a leader which I completely believe is the opposite.
[00:07:10] People want to connect with real people. I also think insecurity is a
[00:07:14] big part of this. Oftentimes people will project when they are feeling
[00:07:18] very insecure about something they can't let people know right. Imposter
[00:07:22] syndrome is 100 percent a real thing where people feel like I don't
[00:07:27] deserve to be here. I'm not good enough for this job or this
[00:07:30] leadership role and so they overcompensate those insecurities by being
[00:07:35] authoritative or decisive or not listening to others and they protect
[00:07:38] themselves by not accepting feedback and feeling like they have to
[00:07:43] have all of the answers. So insecurity plays a big part in this.
[00:07:46] In fact I think insecurity actually is probably a thread that goes
[00:07:50] through all of these. I think when we are not feeling secure with
[00:07:54] ourselves we want to make people like us or we want to make these
[00:07:56] tough decisions or we want to come across as tough and really it's
[00:08:00] insecurity with ourselves and within our relationships with other
[00:08:03] people that drive a lot of these behaviors. And finally self-awareness.
[00:08:08] I think a lot of leaders who lead with their egos who don't show
[00:08:12] humility are simply just not aware and they don't seek feedback so
[00:08:16] they don't understand how their behaviors are actually hindering
[00:08:21] I'm reading the Elon Musk biography and it's so fascinating to see this
[00:08:28] incredibly brilliant human being drive some of the most important
[00:08:33] things that we're working on in society but he has no self-
[00:08:38] awareness on how his actions impact people or maybe he just doesn't
[00:08:43] care. But that self-awareness piece is really really important.
[00:08:46] If you want to show up with humility you have to be aware when maybe
[00:08:51] your ego is driving you. So understanding yourself helps you
[00:08:55] understand your strengths and your weaknesses, helps you
[00:08:57] understand your impact on other people and when you understand
[00:09:00] those things then you can show up with more humility to say hey I
[00:09:03] don't always handle this the right way or I don't really know how
[00:09:06] to do this. Will you help me? That is humble leadership at its
[00:09:10] very best. Oh and then there's one other thing that I wanted to
[00:09:13] mention about why humility is such a tough leadership trait. A lot
[00:09:17] of times the reward system within an organization drives people
[00:09:22] to focus on those personal accolades, on climbing the corporate
[00:09:26] ladder, on doing whatever it takes to help them advance without
[00:09:29] thinking about the impact for the rest of the team or the
[00:09:32] importance of lifting the entire team. So I think that's another
[00:09:36] thing to really look at if you have leaders who do not exhibit
[00:09:40] humility within your organization that's a good place to look.
[00:09:44] Does the reward system, do people get paid bonuses based on
[00:09:48] individual achievements and outcomes versus collaborative
[00:09:52] efforts and support? So that's a really important thing. If you
[00:09:55] want a team oriented culture within your company and you
[00:09:58] have performance reviews and compensate based on individual
[00:10:03] accomplishments then you're probably going to see a gap in
[00:10:07] humility and what you need to really build a successful team versus
[00:10:12] what the leader is really doing to make sure he or she is
[00:10:16] growing. Let's dive into how you implement this. So if you
[00:10:19] are a leader who is looking to incorporate more humility into
[00:10:22] your leadership style, here are some practical tips to consider.
[00:10:26] This is where I would get started. This is where I did
[00:10:28] get started. So the first is to encourage open communication. You
[00:10:32] have to foster an environment where feedback is freely
[00:10:35] exchanged, where you talk about issues, where anybody feels safe
[00:10:39] to be able to share an idea or to speak up. And you can
[00:10:43] achieve this in team meetings or one on one sessions where
[00:10:46] both positive feedback and constructive criticism are
[00:10:49] welcome on both parties. So that open communication really
[00:10:53] matters. What does that mean? It means you need to sit
[00:10:55] down and you need to talk to people. You need to get to
[00:10:57] know people. You need to create that psychological safety.
[00:11:00] You need to build that trust. And you cannot do that unless
[00:11:03] you encourage that open communication. I think leaders who
[00:11:06] lead with their ego, they want to shut that down. They don't
[00:11:08] care. They don't want to hear about it. And that simply is
[00:11:12] not going to build team success. The second thing is to
[00:11:15] acknowledge contributions. Make it a habit to recognize and
[00:11:19] appreciate what your team members do for you, for the
[00:11:22] team, for the company. Public acknowledgement absolutely can
[00:11:26] boost morale and it motivates others to contribute
[00:11:29] their efforts too. But make sure that you understand if a
[00:11:32] person wants public recognition. There are some
[00:11:35] people who hate that. They feel really embarrassed and
[00:11:37] would prefer just a private thank you or pat on the back.
[00:11:41] So make sure that you understand your team. But
[00:11:43] absolutely, whether it's privately or publicly, you
[00:11:46] have to acknowledge contributions. We all feel like
[00:11:49] we belong when we know that we're making a positive
[00:11:53] contribution to our teammates, to the people who
[00:11:56] are most important in our lives. So share that. Let
[00:11:59] people know that really mattered. You did a great job
[00:12:03] here. This is how your efforts really helped me or
[00:12:06] help the team. It's the number one thing that you
[00:12:09] can do to show that you are humble, that you see
[00:12:12] other people and it really fosters that team
[00:12:15] environment which creates more success. The next
[00:12:18] thing is to lead by example. You have to lead by
[00:12:21] example. When you make a mistake, embrace it, speak
[00:12:24] up, learn from it, show people that you are not too
[00:12:28] good to admit that you made a mistake or that your
[00:12:31] ego won't let you handle it, that you have to
[00:12:33] deflect or blame. Just own it. When leaders handle
[00:12:37] their errors with grace and accountability, it
[00:12:40] sets it a powerful example for the team. It makes
[00:12:43] other people more willing to say, hey, I made a
[00:12:45] mistake too or I could have done this better.
[00:12:48] And that is humility. So if you want to foster
[00:12:51] the humility within your team, you've got to be
[00:12:53] able to lead by example and step up and speak
[00:12:56] up and own it when maybe your performance could
[00:12:59] have been better too. And then finally, you need
[00:13:02] to support personal and professional development.
[00:13:04] People want to grow. When you invest in training
[00:13:08] development, when you invest in training and
[00:13:10] development programs for your employee, they
[00:13:13] know that you care about them. And that's
[00:13:16] really important to exhibit humility in
[00:13:18] leadership. People want to know that you care
[00:13:21] about them, that you don't just care about
[00:13:24] yourself. Let's face it, we all care about
[00:13:25] ourselves, but humble leaders say your success
[00:13:29] really matters to me and I'm going to invest
[00:13:32] in you. When you support your team's growth and
[00:13:34] development, it absolutely tells them, I value
[00:13:38] your contributions and I am committed to your
[00:13:40] success. And that is humble leadership at its
[00:13:44] best. By fostering humility within yourself
[00:13:47] and within your team, you enhance the
[00:13:50] effectiveness of everyone and you contribute
[00:13:53] to a more ethical, more sustainable, a more
[00:13:56] engaged team where people like coming to work
[00:14:00] when they enjoy working for you as a leader
[00:14:03] and when they know that they have the
[00:14:04] opportunities to be their best because their
[00:14:07] leaders invest in them. That is the power
[00:14:10] of being a humble leader. So you can see
[00:14:13] none of that has anything to do with not
[00:14:16] having self-confidence. It has everything to do
[00:14:19] with being self-confident, to really be
[00:14:21] vulnerable and open and to take feedback
[00:14:25] and learn and grow from it. That's what people
[00:14:28] want. Humble leaders are real people and
[00:14:30] people want to work for real people. So
[00:14:32] hopefully that inspires you to consider
[00:14:34] humility as a highly effective, important
[00:14:39] leadership trait that will help improve your
[00:14:42] success and your team's success and hopefully
[00:14:45] you walked away with some practical tips. With
[00:14:47] that I will leave you to your day. I hope
[00:14:49] you have a great one. If you like this
[00:14:51] podcast, please write a review, share it
[00:14:53] with a friend, go on and subscribe on
[00:14:55] YouTube or on your favorite podcast
[00:14:57] platform. And if you like tips like this
[00:15:01] that I gave today, please check out my
[00:15:02] book, The Ownership Mindset, a handbook
[00:15:04] for transforming your life and leadership.
[00:15:07] You can find it at Amazon or you can
[00:15:09] ping me and I'll get you a coupon to
[00:15:11] be able to get a 20% discount on a
[00:15:14] signed book. All right, with that I'll
[00:15:16] leave you for your week. We'll see you
[00:15:17] next week. Thanks.