Is Humility An Effective Leadership Skill?
May 2025
People often find themselves in leadership roles because of their drive, self-assuredness, and strategic thinking skills. However, successful leaders demonstrate much more, such as strong relationship-building and discernment.
Traditionally, leaders have been encouraged to exude confidence and strength but, while these are vital traits, excessive confidence can become a major reason why leaders fail.
Excessive self-confidence can often overshadow fundamental leadership skills like self-awareness, communication, empathy, and even the ability to surface innovative ideas.
To be a truly great leader, it's crucial to be in tune with oneself, the team, and one's environment.
The Overlooked Leadership Superpower
In many business settings, humility is often viewed as a weakness, linked to low self-esteem. This may explain why articles on confidence appear more often than humility in popular publications like Harvard Business Review.
Yet, organizational psychologist Adam Grant (2021), advocates that humility is not about low self-esteem or a lack of confidence. Instead, humility is an essential quality that mitigates the effects of over-confidence or arrogance.
In his 2021 book, 'Think Again', Grant underscores the importance of fostering 'confident humility' to avoid the narrow and singular thinking which often results from overconfidence.
When people begin to achieve career success it’s common for them to overlook ongoing areas for growth. Previous successes can easily feed their ego and boost a false sense of competence, a phenomenon known as the Kruger-Dunning effect.
The American Psychological Association describes this effect as a cognitive bias causing individuals to overrate their skills and capabilities.
Indeed, Malcolm Gladwell (2020) - a renowned social science writer - argues that "overconfidence is the disease of experts" and suggests that leaders may
“have an estimation of their abilities that is greater than their actual abilities. That’s a very serious problem and that leads to mistakes every bit as consequential, if not more consequential than the mistakes of incompetence.”
From this perspective, humility emerges as an important skill for effective leaders. In fact, research shows that leadership humility can be a real asset to organizations!
The 4 Key Skills of Leadership Humility
In a 2022 study, I interviewed working professionals about 12 humble leaders to whom they had reported in the workplace. The aim of the study was to define humility in the context of leadership - and who better to ask than workers themselves?
Their responses surfaced four hallmarks of leadership humility:
1) Genuine interest in others
Humble leaders display a sincere concern for those around them. They attentively listen and take a proactive role in nurturing others' potential.
True curiosity and regard for others lead them to seek an understanding of the perspectives of their team members and to actively involve them in decision-making.
2) A Generous Spirit
Generously dispensing time, resources, or opportunities, these leaders were committed to making their team successful.
This aligns with other studies linking humility and generosity, such as Exline & Hill’s (2012) set of three studies that explored charitable behaviors and the motivation to be kind. They discovered that humility was a strong predictor of generous behaviors, which may be advantageous in the work setting.
Similarly, in his book ‘Givers and Takers’, Adam Grant emphasizes that generous individuals, or 'givers', are likely to garner substantial social capital and achieve greater success compared to less generous people, or 'takers'.
3) Relational Competence
Relationally competent leaders exhibit great respect toward others and maintain professional boundaries effectively. It begins with their self-awareness and a balanced relationship with power.
Relational competence, when combined with a genuine curiosity in others, can notably improve team inspiration, trust, and engagement.
These leaders excel in fostering the growth and adaptability of their team members. This also involves being self-aware, and managing power and authority effectively, while demonstrating empathy and respect.
4) Growth-Oriented Mindset
A crucial aspect of leading with humility is adopting a growth-oriented mindset. This calls for leaders to use their self-awareness and a sharp perception of others' needs to respond effectively to evolving demands, both personally and systemically.
Leaders in the study were committed to their own growth, as well as that of their team members, while remaining motivated to drive improvements in the organization at large.
Clearly, these leaders were mission-oriented, emotionally intelligent, and always exploring innovative approaches to problem-solving. They incorporated diverse viewpoints in their strategies and were willing to acknowledge and rectify their mistakes, flexibly adapting where necessary.
These leadership traits were crucial to relationship-building and improving team morale.
3 Organizational Benefits of Leadership Humility
The are several advantages of leadership humility for an organization including facilitating team cooperation, collaboration, and building trust, thereby improving business productivity.
More often than not, a humble leader is inclined to listen and factor in the ideas and feedback from their employees. This can result in enhanced decision-making processes and more innovative solutions.
Furthermore, a leadership style rooted in humility can boost morale, encourage new ideas, and increase job satisfaction.
Specifically, my interviews revealed that humility contributed to three important factors:
1) Promoting Emotional Commitment to the Organization
Emotional, or affective commitment, occurs when someone decides to stay at an organization due to a genuine enjoyment of the work and organizational culture.
Conversely, other forms of commitment might stem from apprehension towards change or economic constraints (known as normative and continuance commitment, respectively).
Emotional commitment stands out as the most preferable because it reflects a genuine enthusiasm toward the organization rather than a sense of obligation or fear of change.
2) Cultivating a Sense of Psychological Safety
Psychological safety encompasses a sense of security to embrace mistakes, seek clarification through inquiry, and openly discuss areas of uncertainty or gaps in knowledge.
The idea of psychological safety in teams was first developed by the late MIT professor, Edgar Schein and further researched and refined by Harvard professor, Amy Edmondson.
Psychological safety in teams is essential not only for job satisfaction but also for innovation.
3) Fostering Team Member Empowerment
Empowering individuals and teams shows that you, as a leader, see them as capable individuals who can autonomously make decisions and think critically. Research shows that when people feel empowered there is greater trust and productivity.
Collectively, these factors contribute to the development of a more robust and inclusive organizational culture, heightened levels of employee engagement, enhanced retention rates, and opportunities for professional advancement.
Nurturing Humility as a Leader
To build humility into your leadership style, consider the following steps based on research and feedback from study participants:
1. Eliminate Negative Behaviors - Discontinuing certain behaviors typically associated with overconfidence is a great place to start.
Focus on avoiding actions such as boasting about resources or skills, seeking attention for achievements, pretending to have all the answers, exerting authority over others, or engaging in gossip.
2. Engage in Self-Reflection - Dedicate time for introspection. Reflect on your own performance, strengths, and weaknesses.
This practice encourages self-awareness and a recognition of your limitations. It also makes you more receptive to feedback and constructive criticism from others.
3. Embrace Mistakes and Learning - Shift your perspective on mistakes. Embrace them as opportunities for growth and learning. Be willing to acknowledge your errors and encourage your team to do the same.
This mindset promotes problem-solving and collaboration.
4. Share Credit and Value Contributions - Rather than seeking personal credit, emphasize and recognize the contributions of your team members. Acknowledge their efforts and achievements openly.
This approach fosters a culture of mutual respect and teamwork.
5. Practice Active Listening - Develop the skill of attentive listening. Pay genuine attention to the ideas, concerns, and feedback of your team members.
This demonstrates that you value their input and are open to diverse perspectives.
6. Promote Collaborative Decision-Making - Involve your team in the decision-making process. Encourage brainstorming and collaboration when solving problems or making strategic choices.
This inclusivity empowers your team and promotes a sense of shared ownership.
7. Stay Open to Feedback - Create an environment where feedback is welcomed. Regularly seek input from your team members and be receptive to their suggestions.
This demonstrates a willingness to learn and improve.
8. Lead by Example - Model the behaviors you wish to see in your team and peers. Demonstrate humility through your actions and interactions.
Show how valuing others, admitting mistakes, and embracing continuous learning contribute to effective leadership.
9. Continuously Learn and Grow - Cultivate a growth mindset. Pursue ongoing learning and development to expand your knowledge and skills.
This not only benefits you but also sets an example for your team to follow suit.
10. Express Gratitude - Regularly express gratitude to your team members for their contributions; show appreciation for their efforts and dedication.
This reinforces a positive and collaborative atmosphere.
Remember that leadership is (arguably) a practice and effective leaders engage in consistent effort and self-awareness. By embracing these practices, you can foster a leadership approach that not only earns team members' trust but also contributes to a positive and productive culture that moves the organization forward.
Humility Pitfalls for Leaders
While there are clearly many reasons why leadership humility can make one a better leader, there are a couple of things to consider.
The research described above also discovered that employees feel humble leaders are more apt to have difficulty with open communication around feedback and timely decision-making.
Left unchecked, these tendencies can certainly derail leaders, particularly new ones. Successful leaders must have a strong sense of both their strengths and weaknesses, and have a willingness to develop new skills, even if uncomfortable.
Most team members want honest feedback so that they too can grow, develop new skills, and contribute to the organizational goals. So, being able to communicate effectively in this area is one of the key skills of a strong leader.
Similarly, while people want to feel included in decision-making, trying to please too many perspectives can render a leader paralyzed. After all, one of the most important leadership qualities is the ability to execute business strategy by leading an organization toward particular outcomes or solutions. This requires a leader to be decisive, even in the face of conflict.
While leadership humility is arguably the product of experience and a sense of security in one's leadership role and identity, there are steps leaders can take to enhance this leadership quality, even in early career roles.
Coaching is one such step. When leaders collaborate with a coach to establish achievable goals and dedicate time to their personal and professional development, their effective leadership skills grow exponentially.
Coaching holds immeasurable value in assisting leaders to develop their talents, foster introspection, discover purpose and meaning, and define achievable objectives.
To explore your career options, consider reaching out for a coaching session! You can contact me directly at [email protected]. And if you have any thoughts about this note, I’d love to hear those too!
And… ‘Notes on Life at Work’ are the thoughts of Abigail Eaves alone and do not reflect the position of any employers, past or present.
Sources:
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative science quarterly, 44(2), 350-383
Exline, J. J., & Hill, P. C. (2012). Humility: A consistent and robust predictor of generosity. Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(3), 208–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2012.671348
Gladwell, M. (2020). https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/07/22/malcolm-gladwell-on-how-tohandle-an-overconfident-boss.html
Grant, A. (2021). Think again: the power of knowing what you don’t know. p.307
Schein, E. H., & Schein, P. A. (2018). Humble leadership: the powers of relationships, openness, and trust. First edition. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.