This Advent I’ve been reflecting on humility in the professional context. Yes, that sounds like a social media humble brag. But, let’s just say I didn’t voluntarily choose my Advent theme. I’ve learned some hard lessons this year. Hopefully, you don’t need the lessons and resources in this edition as much as I did.
Journey On,
~Mark
Mark King Mark@BruisedCamels.com | LinkedIn
Business | Leadership
Jesus’ Ambitious Humility
I love Christianity’s embrace of paradox: Jesus is fully God and fully human, God is one but three, etc. At Christmas we celebrate the paradox that the Creator of the Universe became a helpless baby in a cow shed to ambitiously pursue the goal of saving us.
That baby went on to teach us another paradox. Leadership means humbly washing stinky feet. Great theology. But what does that look like during a Zoom call at 2:30pm on a Tuesday? How do Jesus Followers lead humbly in 2023?
Fortunately, a few business researchers and academics have “discovered” that humility pays dividends. Their motivations and definitions of humility differ to some degree from mine. However, their work on how humility is lived out and balanced with healthy ambition provide actionable guidance for Jesus Followers.
Amer Kaissi, professor of healthcare administration at Trinity University and the author of Humbitious: The Power of Low-Ego High-Drive Leadership looks at the need to balance humility and ambition. He was interviewed on HBR’s Ideacast podcast recently (Apple, Spotify, Website which includes transcript). Kaissi argues that humility is one ingredient in the leadership recipe, and you may need different recipes in different industries, situations, and career phases.
“…the message of Humbitious is not humility all the time, an extreme humility, because just like any other strength that we may have, when overused, humility can actually become counterproductive and may become a weakness.”
His approach reminds me of the old saying: “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you’re of no earthly good.” I disagree that humility’s value is strictly pragmatic. But Kaissi’s viewpoint is consistent with a humble carpenter going ballistic on temple money changers.
Dr. Hannah Rose posted “The paradoxical power of humility: how being humble is a strength” on the Ness Labs’ productivity blog. Her point about genuineness is especially true for Jesus Followers.
“…humility shouldn’t be used to fool people. A leader who appears to be humble only to serve management motives will be perceived as less trustworthy. Humility needs to be a genuine character trait, not an act.”
We often think of character strengths like humility as things we either have or don’t have. Rose points out that humility is a muscle that we can build through regular exercise. She identifies three interpersonal skills to work on that lead to humility.
- Listen more and speak less
- Support others without bragging
- Celebrate the success of others
Patrick Lencioni, the legendary business author, consultant, and Jesus Follower, highlights humility’s importance in The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues. Lencioni builds his views on a Christian worldview which values people as God’s children, not economic units. He and his colleagues discuss humility extensively. I’ll focus here on two highly pragmatic tools.
First, the Table Group (Lencioni’s firm) published “The Markers of a Humble Leader” on its blog. The post identifies two profiles of leaders that lack humility. One you’ll recognize immediately. The second one may rock your world.
The post also identifies eight behaviors that you can proactively work on to develop your humility. I love this quote and hope it encourages you as much as it did me.
“Humility, unfortunately, is something that’s difficult to teach, but I have seen leaders with true discipline have success in showing up more humbly by mimicking certain behaviors long enough that they become second nature.”
Second, Table Group provides a free interview guide you can download. Use it to identify humility and the two other essential virtues, hungry and smart, in job candidates. There’s also a free self-assessment if you’re humble enough to take it.
Kitchen Drawer | My Favorite Business Author/Speaker
Lencioni Fan Boy
You should read everything he’s written. No…really. Many of his books are written as business “fables.” They’re deceptively quick and easy to read. The Advantage pulls together several books into a non-fable magnum opus.
His author page on Amazon is a good place to start. His company’s website TableGroup.com has a bunch of free stuff. And GoodReads.com has reader reviews of his books. (FYI if you’re new to GoodReads, it’s owned by Amazon, so your Amazon login works. No need to create an account.) And of course, I listen to his podcast regularly. (Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Website)
