Teaching humility is an important life skill that can help create better relationships and foster a more positive outlook. Humility is the ability to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and others. Personally, I see it as an essential part of leading a successful and meaningful life. I for one like to be a leader and see a leader show signs of humility when appropriate. Motivational speaker Simon Sinek would call humility a human skill that is essential to learn. Leaders can practice listening and being the last one to speak. The benefits are that you build trust, open up to growth, and allow space for new ideas.
Humility Can Work for Leaders
The Harvard Business Review wrote in 2018 about the ways humility, or being humble, can really work for a leader. Dan Cable says, “Power..can cause leaders to become overly obsessed with outcomes and control, and, therefore, treat their employees as means to an end. As I’ve discovered in my own research, this ramps up people’s fear — fear of not hitting targets, fear of losing bonuses, fear of failing — and as a consequence people stop feeling positive emotions and their drive to experiment and learn is stifled.” Whether as staff or students, fear lessons our drive which leads to burnout and disengagement. We lose the drive to be a part of a team or take risks that can be both beneficial to ourselves and our colleagues/peers. In fact, the article continues on “[t]o put it bluntly, servant-leaders have the humility, courage, and insight to admit that they can benefit from the expertise of others who have less power than them. They actively seek the ideas and unique contributions of the employees that they serve.”
Cable, Dan. “How Humble Leadership Really Works” Hbr, 23 Apr. 2018, https://hbr.org/2018/04/how-humble-leadership-really-works. Accessed 1 Jan. 1970.
Ways to Teach Humility
As a teacher, the first thing we do at the beginning of the year or semester is start building an environment where learning can take place and relationships can be sustained. Many K-12 schools districts, and hopefully higher education, provide Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) opportunities.
Become a Role Model
One great way to teach humility is to be a role model. Show your children and those around you how to treat others with respect, be open to learning, and be willing to make mistakes. Encourage your children to be humble in their interactions with others and to be willing to apologize when they make mistakes.
Practice Mindfulness
Another great way to teach humility is to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness can help us remain present in our lives and be aware of our thoughts and feelings. This allows us to recognize our own strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of others.
Provide Positive Reinforcement
Finally, it is important to teach humility through positive reinforcement. Recognize and reward your children and others for humble behavior and for being kind and considerate. Show appreciation for those who take the time to listen to others and offer support or advice.
Humility is an essential life skill that can help us build better relationships and be more successful in life. By being a role model, practicing mindfulness, and offering positive reinforcement, we can teach humility to students, staff, and colleagues.
Humility = Being Grounded
Adam Grant says in his book Think Again that “Humility is often misunderstood. It’s not a matter of having low self-confidence. One of the Latin roots of humility means “from the earth”. It’s about being grounded–recognizing that we’re flawed and fallible.”
Grant suggests that we should have confident humility (48). He says that “the most effective leaders score high in both confidence and humility. Although they have faith in their strengths, they’re also keenly aware of their weaknesses. They know they need to recognize and transcend their limits if they want to push the limits of greatness” (Grant 48). Be a work in progress through confident humility and you will show that you “care more about improving [your]self than proving [your]self” (Grant 215).
Grant, Adam. Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know. [New York, New York], Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2021.
See You Real Soon,
Erin
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