A discussion on leadership, humility, and arrogance

I would have never imagined that the time would come for me to admit that humility and leadership are not mutually exclusive concepts.

In today’s dog-fight-dog world, a leader is normally characterized by traits such as arrogance, due to the fact that people cherish power, and will follow an influential leader that manages to draw their attention and impress them.

Therefore, it is little surprise that, as a trait, humility is generally viewed as a weakness, rather than a strength, that a leader may have.

Is this the case, though?

Naturally, an effective leader is expected to be a pompous person that has the skill and ability to be considered by others as always right.

In fact, it is not a leader’s fault that others have got accustomed to seeing him or her in the light of his or her self-importance.

It is strange, but our society needs leaders who exude self-importance, because of the latter’s ability to create an image that is highly appealing, yet elusive, misleading, and false.

When arrogant leaders are taught a lesson of humility

Through the ages, there have been famous sayings, such as: “Call no man happy until he is dead”, which have criticized human arrogance.

Arrogant people, and leaders, in specific, tend to be worshiped like gods, as long as things go well.

When things take a bad turn all of a sudden, rather than trying to find out what is really wrong and correct it, if possible, leaders who tend to view themselves as self-important, continue to do so, dragging down others with them, even if the latter have not done anything wrong, with the exception, perhaps, of following those leaders in the first place.

When pompous leaders start a losing streak, and can’t stop it, they are turned into losers, as opposed to winners, which they once used to be.

Their approach to leadership, which was entirely based on their superciliousness, is taken down like a giant with clay feet.

Will, however, an arrogant leader be able to learn from such a lesson of humility, and dramatically change their approach to become a humbler person, or will they stick to their old, stubborn ways, and continue to harm themselves and others?

It could be possible to persuade supercilious leaders to adopt a more down-to-earth approach and a humble attitude by providing them with examples of the humblest leaders in history, who have proved to be the most effective ones, and have stood the test of time, at the same time.

Conclusion

In the today’s learning world, in order for leaders to continue to be effective, they should take into account the fact that both their followers and non-followers are more knowledgeable, educated, and skilled than in the past.

Therefore, since nobody knows everything, it would be best for leaders to accept their ignorance of certain topics and areas of knowledge, where others may be more gifted and conversant with than them.

By doing so, and without even realizing it, leaders can multiply their impact and be taken more seriously than arrogant leaders, simply by embracing humility.

Sources and further reading:

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