Each Sunday, our goal is to share a piece of gold with you. Some small piece of information that helps you to have a better week and achieve a better outcome.  

Humility does not mean the absence of confidence; it means the absence of arrogance. People want to work for leaders who are empathetic, who listen, and who are focused on the success of the team before their own glory. Finding this balance is not always easy but is critical in today’s business world.  

Here are a few ways that a leader can portray humble confidence:  

  1. Know the facts. It is very common that the people puzzles that arise do so because of emotions, assumption, or a perception about another person or situation. When solving problems, start with the facts and ask yourself and others a simple question; “How do we know that to be 100% true?” Don’t be afraid to fight for the truth.  
  2. Know what you know… and what you do not know. We often believe that because we are in a role of leadership, somehow, we have become an all-knowing oracle that has all the answers—when the obvious reality is that we cannot have all the answers. Don’t be afraid to tell a person or your team that you do not know. Compliment them on asking a good question and work together to get the necessary answer(s).  
  3. Share when you learn something new and meaningful. The best leaders are also the best students. When you are demonstrating for your team that you have invested the time to be the student, that encourages the same behavior. By sharing, you let the team know you care that they are continually learning too. This often starts an awesome conversation.  
  4. Admit your mistakes. We are all human and we all fail. When the team fails, it is the leader’s responsibility. When the team is successful, it is the team’s work that led to that outcome, and they should get the recognition. By taking ownership of your own mistakes and the mistakes of the team, it will lead to unity and the belief that you as the leader are committed to the success of each person… and it will help create the psychological safety for others to admit their mistakes as well. The identification of a problem earlier in a process leads to a fast pivot and a higher likelihood of success. When people are afraid of admitting struggle or mistakes, they will often work a problem to death and waste days or weeks of time instead of making the proper adjustment.  
  5. Create clarity for success. Doing the work, grinding it out, pushing through the daily challenges will always wear on a team. However, when they know what success is, and the WHY they are persevering and fighting for an outcome, the perspective changes. Articulating the goal and a simple and memorable WHY statement for the team to rally behind will make a massive difference in the attitude of a team. Keep in mind that there are times when the WHY actually comes from the team. Having a meaningful team discussion about their dreams and aspirations can truly make a difference in pushing through a tough challenge.  

There is no doubt that Leadership is both an art and a science. Finding the balances between humility and confidence is not easy. However, when we focus on improving the lives of those we serve and our team knows our heart through our words and our actions, it makes all the difference in the world.  

The goal of Adapt or Die is to build better leaders who run better companies and change the world. Getting alignment about how the company’s success aligns with each team and person is critical. If you’d like a copy of our Strategy Alignment Worksheet, purchase your copy of Adapt or Die here and then go to adaptordie.com/assets to get started. I hope you enjoy it!