Beware the Risks of Too Much Humility
| Humility is a virtue in leadership—but being too humble can backfire. Here are three ways humility can undermine your leadership. You may be perceived as indecisive. Democratizing every decision-making process can be misconstrued as a reluctance to take a stand, or a lack of conviction in your strategic vision. Don’t defer to consensus all the time. Instead, recognize that true humility isn’t about forfeiting your authority—it’s about confidently wielding it when you have to. You may hinder your own career advancement. Deflecting praise or funneling all the credit down to your team can erase your own role in your team’s achievements. Dual-promotion, in which you compliment a colleague, peer, or team while also sharing your own personal accomplishments, can be a powerful way to walk the line between humility and confidence. You may be limiting your team’s development. If you worry that delegating work to employees could be seen as oppressive or demotivating, you may actually be depriving them of opportunities to learn and grow. Understand that delegation isn’t strictly about offloading tasks, but rather about expanding your team’s capacity and resilience. |
| This tip is adapted from “3 Ways Humility Can Undermine Your Leadership,” by Tony Martignetti |
