W.I.N. Wednesday: Humility
“Humility is not denying your strengths. Humility is being honest about your weaknesses.”
Rick Warren
The above quote is important, as too often we seem to think that humility is just about our weaknesses. As a result we down play our strengths and push aside or brush off compliments. We need to be humble enough to be honest about our weaknesses and be willing to humbly say, “Thank you. I appreciate that.” when someone compliments us or acknowledges our strengths.
“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”
Rick Warren
In my Dare to Be Great leadership workshop we talk about traits and characteristics of people who are great leaders, followers, teammates, role models, mentors and coaches. Humility is ultimately on people’s lists for many of those categories. Humility in great leaders, coaches, teammates and mentors is demonstrated by the philosophy of “Take the blame, and give away the credit.” They are willing to stand up and own up when something goes wrong, but are willing to give away the credit in all directions and shine the spotlight on others when there is success.
During Dare to Be Great workshop we also examine the following quote from Jocko Willink, the co-author of Extreme Ownership and The Dichotomy of Leadership.
Total responsibility for failure is a difficult thing to accept, and taking ownership when things go wrong requires extraordinary humility and courage. But doing just that is an absolute necessity to learning, growing as a leader, and improving the team’s performance.
Jocko Willink, Extreme Ownership
It takes humility, courage and vulnerability for someone to stand up and admit their mistakes or failures. This is especially critical for leaders as it models the behavior for those they lead and creates a culture where responsibility, accountability, ownership, leadership, learning and growth can thrive.
My three personal Core Values are Commitment, Curiosity and Humility and I strive to continually remind myself to Stay Committed, Curious and Humble.
What’s Important Now? Like yourself. Love yourself. Be proud of who you are and what you have accomplished. Engage in the pursuit of excellence and Dare to Be Great while embracing humility.
Take care.
Brian Willis
www.lifesmostpowerfulquestion.com
Maximizing human potential through Life's Most Powerful Question - What's Important Now?
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