Our contemporary society may have eclipsed the past in terms of science, medicine and technology, but in some things we are “well below par” when compared to the ancients, according to John Dickson in his book Humilitas: A Lost Key to Life, Love and Leadership. Real wisdom in life and leadership can be found by opening yourself up to centuries of human thinking on subjects such as communication, ethics, human nature, romantic love and natural human rights.
There are plenty of books which have been written about the virtues of humility, but I was intrigued to find out what a historian might have to say about the virtue of humility as applied to leadership. Humility, according to the author, is the noble choice to forgo your status, deploy your resources or use your influence for the good of others before yourself. Thus true humility presupposes that a person has status and influence, and is not to be confused with low self-esteem or being a doormat.
In subsequent chapters, the author asserts that:
- It is common sense for us to use humility to keep our pride in check.
- We are more attracted to great people who are humble than to those who are not.
- The ancient world admired honour, not humility, but Jesus of Nazareth caused a humility revolution.
- Humility generates learning and growth, and provides a firm basis for self-esteem.
- The humble are frequently more persuasive and inspiring than the arrogant.
- Humility inspires and lifts those around us.
- Humility means treating those who hold contrary beliefs with respect and friendship.
The book is reasonably brief and written in an entertaining style. The author admits that his perspective is that of a historian and not an experienced leader, and the scope of his references to leadership books is fairly narrow, with Jim Collins, John Kotter and the Harvard Business Review getting a fairly good workout, but that does not detract from the validity of what he has to say. I highly recommend this book to business and church leaders.
One reply on “Benefits of humility for leaders”
It’s like you read my mind with the title. Very very few leaders today understand the meaning and benefits of being humble. Donald Trump is the perfect example of some of the worst leadership ever. Yes he did have success but how many people do you think were happy to work for this guy, because I don’t think you’d find many. I’ve recently read a very good book on this subject called “Are leaders born or made?” by David Grabovac and he beautifully presents our current society’s leaders with famous leaders of the past. A very good book with some very strong points in my opinion.