Humility in Leadership

Some of us in leadership are under the misconception that we have to know everything. This is utterly and completely untrue and it can lead to poor, under informed decision making. As a leader you cannot have any delusions of knowing everything, and if your team has that impression then, you, as a leader, have not done a good job of defining the relationship and your role within the team.

“I don’t know” is actually one of my favorite things to say because of the ‘unknown’. The unknown should excite us because it’s an opportunity. Finding out something new or learning something new can often times lead to progress for the entire department, or could be a building block of future change. Don’t be excited because you don’t have to answer the question, be excited because it’s a chance to open your eyes to something new. As a leader who embraces learning and forward progress saying “I don’t know” is always followed with “but let’s find out together”.

“I’m sorry” is another one that I find most leaders afraid to utilize. As a leader you do not need to be right 100% of the time. You do need to be right more than you are wrong, but you are still human. Humans make mistakes. Leaders get into trouble when they are unable to admit they were wrong or made a mistake. Refusing to accept a mistake leads your people to view you as hard headed, stubborn and unreasonable. It can also make you look foolish and send your team down a path of failure if the mistake is performance impacting. As leaders we need to see “I’m sorry” as an opportunity, just as we do with “I don’t know”. It’s not the same type of opportunity but an opportunity nonetheless. “I’m sorry” shows your team you understand you’re not perfect. It shows that you are reasonable and not afraid to course correct if needed. Utilizing “I’m sorry” can also get another level of buy-in and investment from your team if used properly. Saying “I’m sorry, let’s figure out a better process for this together” creates an atmosphere of idea sharing, communication and transparency that gives employees a sense of empowerment and more importantly, a voice.

Don’t be afraid to be human.