It seems that the most effective leaders are very professional, but at the same time, they are extremely humble people. Humble yet professional leaders were able to transform their companies from being just good to being great. In the US, that means these companies outperformed the US stock market average by almost 7 times over a period of fifteen years, according to an article on the management-issues.com website.
There was a leader, a CEO in the consumer paper products industry, who managed to generate shareholder returns 4 times higher than others in his market. Surprisingly this CEO, Darwin Smith, was shy and even awkward. He shunned attention and when asked, he described his management style as “eccentric”.
Personal confidence and impressions are not everything
Classy, outgoing leaders are usually able to generate short-term financial success through the power of their personal egos. However, when it comes to sustaining this success over the longer term, they struggle and often cannot maintain this achievement. Furthermore, when these leaders step down from their role, there is no one to succeed them. Handover is not easy because they made their organizations dependent on their personal talents and behavior.
Choosing to be humble
When it comes to becoming a better manager, you should not be motivated only by your need to achieve personal glory.
- Never be boastful, demonstrate humility and modesty. Be quiet and calm, focus upon the company, not your personal agenda.
- Motivate others through calm determination and high standards, not by inspiring charisma.
- Look for and coach your possible successors, so that the company or department can also be successful in the future.
- In times of poor performance, look in the mirror, not out of the window when apportioning responsibility.
-jk-