How Humility Contributes to Organizational Success

Leaders DON’T need all the answers. One of the hardest things to unlearn as a leader is that you don’t have to know everything. We’re often led to believe that great leaders should be experts in every detail, guiding from a place of mastery. But my experience has taught me 2 things: 👉 Not knowing everything isn’t just okay. It’s a strength. 👉 Leadership isn’t about control; it’s about empowerment. Early on, I worked with a brilliant CTO who stepped into sales and marketing— a world tangential to his experience. He didn’t go in as the expert. He went in to enable the experts. He asked smart questions, provided resources, and focused on first principles. Watching him energize a team of sales professionals was eye-opening. A CTO leading a team of salespeople to success? Exactly! When I became a leader, I took that approach to heart. I didn’t need all the answers. I just needed to empower my team. That shift in thinking changed everything. I understood I needed to create the right environment for them to excel. In fact, saying ‘I don’t know’ opens doors. It shows your team that learning is encouraged and that they, too, can step up, share insights, and drive solutions. ↳ A leader’s vulnerability builds trust and respect.  ↳ Admitting what you don’t know fosters a culture of continuous learning.  ↳ Showing humility creates space for your team to shine. ↳ Learning through tasks without prior experience paves the way for the team to follow suit instead of being skeptical about inexperience. Agree?

Early in my career, I landed my dream job… and immediately felt like an imposter. On day 3, my new colleague, Rina, spotted an error in my strategic plan. My first instinct? → Defend myself. → Prove I belonged. → Protect my ego. Instead, I swallowed my pride and said: “Walk me through how you’d approach it differently.” That single conversation unlocked solutions I’d never have seen alone. Six months later, we co-led a project that saved the company $1.4M. Not because I knew more than her. But because I realized: ✅ Working with people smarter than you is a blessing, not a threat. Here’s what most leaders get wrong: • They think leadership is about being the authority in the room. • They worry that smarter colleagues will overshadow them. • They fear being seen as “less than” if they ask for help. But the highest-impact leaders I’ve coached share one trait: They’re fiercely coachable. → They seek out people who know more. → They treat differences as assets, not threats. → They let go of needing to be the hero. That’s how careers grow, not in certainty, but in curiosity. The C.H.O.I.C.E.™ Framework makes this real: • Courage: Ask, even when your ego screams “don’t.” • Humility: Recognize brilliance in others. • Openness: Let new ideas replace old assumptions. • Integration: Apply what you learn fast. • Curiosity: Keep asking “What else could be true?” • Empathy: Celebrate others’ strengths instead of competing. 🛠 3 Ways to Turn “Smarter People” into Your Career Advantage: ✅ Flip the script. → Instead of thinking “They’ll make me look bad,” ask: → “What could I learn from them that would take me years to figure out alone?” ✅ Invite co-creation. → Pull in the experts. → Say: “Can I get your eyes on this?” → Collaboration is rocket fuel for your influence. ✅ Say the magic words. → “I didn’t see that. Thanks for helping me get better.” → That’s leadership, not weakness. Here’s the truth no one wants to admit: If you’re always the smartest person in the room… you’re in the wrong room. 💭 Who’s the “smartest person” who made you better at your craft? ♻️ Tag someone who turns intelligence into collective wins. ➕ Follow Loren Rosario - Maldonado, PCC for human leadership.

Our team starts off every week with a Monday team meeting where the first thing we do is talk about our failures from the previous week... What I discovered a long time ago is that if you want to be a successful and authentic leader, you can't hide behind the varnish of "perfection." The most successful leaders -- those who inspire their people to greatness -- have all figured out that showing up honestly and authentically is a superpower that helps them build deep trust across their teams. All too often I encounter senior-level people who think that they can't be themselves in front of their people. That they can't ever show weakness and have to hide their failures. Here's the thing...you're not hiding it. Your people see you for who you really are, whether you realize it or not. When you try to hide your flaws or failures, they see that too. And that's where trust is lost. Here are three simple things you can start doing right now to show up more authentically and inspire greater trust with your team: 1. Be the first to admit when you fail. Whether in the big things or the small things, own your crap, and tell your people when you mess up. 2. When one of your people comes to you (probably in fear) to admit where they've failed, respond in humility and with compassion. I've also found that taking that opportunity to tell them about one of your previous failures helps to make them feel better in the moment and reminds them that everyone fails. 3. Admit when you don't know something, and encourage others to help you learn and grow by sharing their wisdom with you.

Working with smart people is great. Working with kind people is amazing. I've hired both. Smart people solve problems. Kind people prevent them. → The brilliant strategist who belittles junior staff? Creates more issues than they solve. → The humble analyst who mentors others? Multiplies team capacity exponentially. Reality: Toxicity spreads faster than talent. One brilliant jerk can destroy a decade of culture-building. Here's what kind and humble people do differently: 1/ They Share Credit Generously → "We figured this out" not "I solved it" → Team wins become everyone's wins → Success compounds through trust 💡 Reality: People work harder for leaders who make them look good. 2/ They Admit What They Don't Know → "Great question, let me find out" → Vulnerability creates psychological safety → Teams innovate when failure isn't fatal 💡 Reality: The smartest person in the room is usually the one asking questions. 3/ They Elevate Others Quietly → No fanfare, just consistent support → They build bridges, not walls → Their legacy lives in others' success 💡 Reality: The best leaders create more leaders, not more followers. 4/ They Handle Conflict with Grace → Address issues without attacking people → Seek understanding before being understood → Turn tension into productive dialogue 💡 Reality: How you handle disagreement defines your culture more than any mission statement. 5/ They Stay Curious, Not Competitive → "What can I learn?" vs "How can I win?" → Growth mindset over fixed mindset → Collaboration over domination 💡 Reality: Internal competition kills external competitiveness. 6/ They Remember the Small Things → Your kid's soccer game matters to them → They follow up on personal challenges → They see you as human first, employee second 💡 Reality: People don't leave companies. They leave managers who don't see them. 7/ They Take Responsibility Without Drama → "I should have caught that" not "Why didn't you tell me?" → They shield the team from upper management storms → Mistakes become teaching moments, not witch hunts 💡 Reality: Leaders who own failures publicly and share successes privately build unshakeable loyalty. My new hiring framework: Before assessing skills, I ask: → How do they treat the receptionist? → Do they acknowledge everyone in the room? → How do they talk about former colleagues? → What happens when they're challenged? Red flags that override any credential: → Name-dropping without context → Taking sole credit for team achievements → Dismissive of "lesser" roles → Unable to admit mistakes → Interrupting consistently The math is simple: One toxic genius = Multiple departing stars One kind collaborator = Exponential team growth What's your take on this? Share below 👇 ♻️ Repost if your network needs this reminder. Follow Carolyn Healey for more real-world leadership insights.

The best validation work I’ve seen? It’s not just built on technical precision. It’s built on humility. In our world— Temperature mapping, compliance, qualification— It’s easy to focus on being right. Having the perfect project plan, the perfect protocol. Defending every choice during an audit. But true impact? That comes from how we lead. From listening to operators before telling them what they need. From pausing to understand a concern instead of brushing past it. From asking, “How can we make this better—together?” Humility isn’t a soft skill. It’s a leadership advantage. So here’s what I’m reminding myself this week: • Walk slowly through the room • Be open to learning from everyone • And build teams where people feel safe to speak up Because unity doesn’t just happen. It’s something we choose—every conversation, every project, every time. Who on your team have you learned from lately? Might be worth telling them. 🫶

Your Ego Is Killing Your Leadership Here's what most leaders get wrong: They think it's about them. It's not. And that's why they fail. The best leaders I've worked with—and aspired to be—understand that leadership isn't about control, visibility, or accolades. It's about service. It's about removing roadblocks, elevating others, and showing up with consistency, even when it's inconvenient. Everyone talks about "servant leadership" like it's soft. It's not. It's the hardest thing you'll ever do. Why? Because it requires you to kill your ego daily. To watch someone else get credit for your idea. To bite your tongue when you could show off your expertise. To trust when every instinct screams to control. Selfless leadership means being intentional. It means listening more than speaking. It means making hard decisions with empathy, and being okay with the fact that not everyone will see the full picture—or the weight you carry to protect the culture and the people in it. At Netflix, we talked often about context over control. We hired brilliant people, gave them clarity, and got out of their way. That required self-trust, but also the humility to know: I don't need to be the smartest person in the room—I need to create space for the smartest ideas to win. As Dr. Brené Brown puts it: "Leaders must either invest a reasonable amount of time attending to fears and feelings, or squander an unreasonable amount of time trying to manage ineffective and unproductive behavior." That's the paradox: The less you make it about you, the more influential you become. Leadership is not about being at the center. It's about creating the conditions for others to thrive. That's not flashy. But it is powerful. And if that makes you uncomfortable? Good. That discomfort is your ego dying. Let it. #Leadership #EgoIsTheEnemy #ServantLeadership #NetflixCulture #TruthWorks #ContextNotControl

Did you know that the motto at the Air Force Weapons School, the Air Force equivalent to TOPGUN, is to be humble, approachable, and credible? Most often fighter pilots aren’t perceived as humble. I’ve frequently heard the terms ‘cocky’ and ‘arrogant’ instead. But the best fighter pilots, instructors, and leaders in our squadron had three identifiable traits. They were humble. They were approachable. And they were credible. When we think about leadership, we may think that characteristics like humility and approachability can be signs of weakness. Sometimes we go into a new leadership opportunity thinking we have to put on this tough exterior in order to prove our credibility and capability. Yes, credibility is essential, but the best leaders I’ve worked for and with have been humble and approachable as well. Throughout my 24 years in the Air Force, I’ve witnessed firsthand the power of these traits in leaders: ▶ Humility: The ability to connect on a human level, admit when you don’t have all the answers, and be open to learning from others. ▶ Approachability: Creating an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas, concerns, and feedback, fostering open communication and collaboration. ▶ Credibility: Delivering results. Building trust through consistent actions that back up your words, demonstrating reliability and expertise. We can lead with courage by embracing humility, approachability, and credibility in everything we do. #Leadership #Aviation #LeadWithCourage #FlyingInTheFaceOfFear 📸 Scott "Soup" Campbell, MS, MA

What makes a leader truly resonate? In a world that often equates leadership with dominance and authority, humility can be a secret weapon. I had the pleasure of exploring this topic and much more with Clint Hurdle, one of the best managers in baseball over the past 25 years, on Thirty Minute Mentors. Why is humility in leadership so important? When leaders admit they don’t have all the answers, they invite collaboration and fresh perspectives. This openness encourages team members to share ideas, leading to innovation and fewer mistakes. Leaders who embrace humility build stronger teams. And teams thrive when people feel valued and recognized. Humility isn’t about downplaying accomplishments. It’s about recognizing the contributions of others and celebrating collective success. It's about appreciating that you don't know everything and that there are other people around you who can help you learn more and get better. Here are a few tips on how to integrate humility into your leadership style today:  💠 Acknowledge your limitations. No leader has all the answers. Admitting knowledge gaps invites collaboration and builds trust. 💠 Seek feedback actively. Regularly ask your team for input. This demonstrates respect for their insights and fosters a culture of openness. 💠 Celebrate your team. Give credit where it’s due. Recognizing others' contributions enhances morale and loyalty. How can you embrace humility as a leader? Listen to the full episode and subscribe on your favorite podcasting app.

Leaders are expected to have all the answers. But what if the greatest strength is admitting when you don't? The courage to say, "I don't know," isn't a sign of weakness. It’s a display of intellectual humility that creates a safe space for your team to collaborate and solve problems together. When I was out in the field strengthening relationships with major customers or assisting a sales rep on a major potential project, on occasion I was asked questions that I was not certain about the answer. I would always say in these situations, “I’m not 100% certain regarding the answer, but I do know who to call.” I would then immediately call the person within our organization who I believed knew the answer to the question raised. I would put the call on speaker and state to my colleague that I was with a customer who asked a question I needed help answering. 9 out of 10 times the person I called knew the exact answer to the question and they had an opportunity to shine in front of a customer. This approach was powerful for two reasons. The customer learned that our teams knew what they were doing and they could easily answer uncommon questions on the spot. Second, I shared the spotlight with my team. They appreciated those moments and so did I. We were an organization that worked well together.    CEOs need to let go of the fallacy that you have to have all the answers. Sometimes it’s better when you don’t! #Leadership #Management #Teamwork #Humility