Photo credit: Marcelo César Augusto Romeo, Creative Commons
A humble leader, who is not too full of self, has the capacity and good sense to allow others to sparkle and make a difference.
While consulting with a large department store chain, we encountered such a situation with a particular store employee. The management team just did not respect this guy because he did not fit the mold of the “perfect” floor salesperson. He dressed way too shabby. He wore his hair very long. His humor was caustic. He talked too loudly and joked too much. The only thing standing between him and a pink slip was the small matter of performance. He was positively brilliant at what he did!
His specialty was the children’s clothing department where the kids (and moms) loved him. To them, he was a funny, warm, and highly entertaining friend, a trusted adviser in selecting the best things to wear. Because the customers understood this man’s intentions—he loved meeting kids on their level and serving them—his counter-cultural appearance and behavior didn’t matter much. As long as his creative approach and personality accomplished the mission, he deserved to be a hero of management, not a personnel headache.
This man definitely was a diamond in the rough.
Sure, this example may be a bit extreme, but it illustrates the principle beautifully: A humble leader, who is not too full of self, has the capacity and good sense to allow others to sparkle and make a difference.
Many times a humble leader discovers strengths in his or her coworkers that even they have failed to detect. Sometimes you just don’t know what precious unexpected gems are buried beneath the surface of another human being.
A humble leader—one not caught up constantly in personal needs—is able to explore, develop, and encourage the strengths in others.
A humble leader wants to create a company of giants, to help people become “bigger” than they ever dreamed possible.
Humility absolutely fuels high staff morale and achievement in an organization. This is possible because the leader’s ego isn’t sucking all the air out of the creative environment. There is plenty of oxygen left over for others to breathe and make significant contributions.
And it’s fun. Yes, it can be positively exhilarating to learn what qualities have been “hard-wired” into others.
If our hippie friend’s potential had not been recognized by a humble leader, how would the children’s clothing department in that store suffered?
Humility is costly, but there are incredible and often surprising rewards for leaders who recognize their own personal strengths and limitations while seeing and encouraging the greatness in others.
Are people surprised when you select that person that has complimentary skills to your own? Or do they expect you to appreciate and promote similar skills?