Leadership is the action of leading people in an organization towards achieving set goals. Leaders do this by deliberately influencing employees’ behaviours in several ways. A leader sets a clear vision for the organization, motivates and guides employees. A leaders’ innate traits play a major role in his or her ability to lead. An important innate trait of a leader that he/she demonstrates subconsciously, that followers or team members look up to is humility.
Humility, in terms of organizational leadership, involves minimizing status differences, listening to subordinates, soliciting input, admitting mistakes and being willing to change course of actions when original plans seem not to work. Discussed below are five (5) roles that humility plays in a leader’s leadership journey:
1. Admit Mistakes
With your status as the Director, Manger, etc, it is difficulty to agree that you are not perfect. Oftentimes, people do not want to look like they’ve messed up. But, as human beings, we all make mistakes. When you’re willing to share your own missteps, and how you dealt with and recovered from them, you earn trust from your subordinates and/or team members. A leader should take responsibility for his/her actions and own up to what s(she) does.
2. Be Open to Others’ Opinions
Humble leaders seek input from others to ensure that they have all the facts and are making decisions that are in the best interest of all. No one person has all the answers. If you think you do, then it’s probably time to reassess yourself.
People want to work for people who value their opinions rather than ignore or dismiss them. Leaders who demonstrate great deal of humility are comfortable asking for input and can just as easily be decisive when the situation calls for it. “Know it all leaders” are always exposed to setups and sabotage.
3. Let People do Their Jobs
Putting square pegs in rounds holes will not help leaders to achieve set goals. Choose the right people, train them, then get out of the way and let them do their jobs. It takes humility to admit that your way isn’t the only way or even that some people are better at certain roles than you. Learn to delegate by involving the best brains.The humble leader accepts these truths and allow others’ strengths to work for the good of the team or organization without interference.
4. Accept Ambiguity
A good number of us, as leaders, want to control everything. But some things can’t be known up front or beforehand. You have to know when to take charge–or when to let go and not try to force everything to go your way. Sometimes, it’s important to admit that you don’t know the best answer, and wait until you have the best information (usually from a colleague or subordinate) to make a decision or change a course of action.
5. Self-Reflect
Like many leadership skills, humility may not come easy to everyone, as a result, it is important for a leader to always engage in self-reflection. Get, at least, one person to advise you on aspects of your professional life that need improvement. People who are genuinely interested in you can offer you life-changing advice that you never thought of. This explains why CILG Ghana made it point to always remind its cherished members to remain humble as they go about discharging their leadership roles in their respective organizations.
Mr Ibrahim Alhassan, FCILG
The author is the Editor of the Chartered Institute of Leadership and Governance-Ghana. He is also the Northern Regional Director of the Institute. He is an Editorial Board Member of a number of journals including the European Journal of Educational Sciences and has review several articles.
The author currently works as a data analyst in the Planning and Research Unit of the University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.