Many managers today, far from being polite, are rude to their employees and see this as an essential requirement for superiority, success, or being a good manager. Moreover, some C-Level executives appreciate the tough and ruthless stance of their role model CEOs and think that they will not be as successful unless they act like them. However, research shows that humble managers are much more successful and are also loved and highly appreciated by other employees. In addition, another important result of the research is that companies managed by humble bosses are more successful.
One of the articles about business life that I like is “If Humility Is So Important, Why Are Leaders So Arrogant?” published in the Harvard Business Review. “We live in a world where ego gets attention, but modesty gets results. Where arrogance makes headlines, but humility makes a difference. As leaders or aspiring leaders, we all face questions of our own: Are we confident enough to stay humble? Are we strong enough to admit we don’t have all the answers?” asks Bill Taylor at the end of the article.
He also gives examples from the book titled “Humble Inquiry” by Edgar Schein, who has been a professor at MIT Sloan School of Management for many years. The book covers “the gentle art of asking, instead of telling.” and identifies humility in three different forms:
The first one is the “modesty we feel in the presence of the elderly and notables” as a part of social life. The second is “the humility we feel in the presence of those whose success fascinates us”, which is part of professional life. And the third is “here-and-now humility”, which is most applicable to leaders in business. If a manager wants to achieve big things, this type of humility seems to be a must in today’s business world. In fact, this can be summarized as the situation of needing the other person temporarily in order to achieve the goal.
Taylor also gives examples from the article titled “The Best Bosses Are the Humble Bosses” published in the Wall Street Journal. The article discusses that humble leaders inspire close teamwork, rapid learning, and high performance in their teams. So, can a manager have all these traits? Yes! But unfortunately, when we look at the leaders in business life, we see that being more visible and even arrogant sometimes can be identified with more success. But the truth is no! That is just an illusion; only virtuous people can see beyond the visible…
“When there is so much evidence that humble leaders actually outperform arrogant leaders, why is it so hard for leaders at all levels to control their ego at the office door?” seeking an answer to the question. In fact, perhaps it is thought that we cannot be both humble and hardworking and ambitious.
It is quite possible for them to be present all at once. When we look to the future in business life, humility will come to the fore in the same way that companies and leaders have good intentions, especially in new generations. Leaving our character specialties to be human is unnecessary to be a good manager.
Let science, intelligence, and wisdom guide our work. May the force unite him. Let beauty adorn it…