‘The path up and down is one and the same’
The headline of this piece is a centuries old quote from the famous Greek philosopher, Heraclitus. I have researched widely in vain on the context of his quote so can only assume, as many before me have, that he said these words in the context of growth, reminding us of our responsibility towards our environment as we grow. In the context of growth in leadership, our environment would refer to the people that we encounter in our leadership journey, be they superiors, contemporaries, or those subordinate to us. But how, you may ask, does one demonstrate responsible behavior towards an environment defined as such? The one word that springs to mind in answer is ‘Humility’!
Humility is one of the most valuable leadership skills one can possess, yet ironically, in all its importance it is in a state of serious short supply among today’s class of leaders. Its very nature of ‘subjecting’ a leader to a certain level of vulnerability makes it particularly difficult to master. A leader after all is supposed to be a superhero, strong and full of confidence, is he/she not? The truth cannot be further from this as it is. Don’t be mistaken though, to be humble is not to luck confidence, for humility holds a silent power that more times than not is superior to the alternative. The question therefore is, how does one nurture and grow their humility muscle? Allow me to posture a few ideas in answer.
The very first change one should make is to realise that leadership is never about you but is about those you lead. Your first, last, and only, responsibility as a leader is towards those that look up to you for without them you would not be where you are. All that you do as a leader should therefore be on behalf of others rather than on your own behalf. This realisation will help you shed the veil of selfishness that comes with an ‘un-checked’ rise to leadership, where one takes all the credit to him/herself, and instead cause you to not just share, but give away credit. Leaders who give away credit and only take responsibility for things that did not go too well are likely to be more grounded than those that act otherwise, for they realise that in failure lie the seeds of experimentation, experience and further growth.
Next, humility is about vulnerability. It is about demystifying leadership and presenting one’s self as only human. Humans are approachable social beings by nature, and so should you be. Humans have blind spots and make mistakes, and so do you. Accept your mistakes, learn, and grow from them. Recognise those blind spots where they are made aware to you and devise means of covering them. Make yourself accessible to those you lead and listen to them by silencing your opinions so as to allow other opinions to blossom. Remember that long term sustainable growth lies in the ‘collective’ rather than in the ‘individual’. ‘Collective’ is only possible where difference of opinion is tolerated and debated to arrive at the most optimal. In doing this also be open to criticism. This is easy to say but is probably the hardest to do. It takes massive amounts of will power to allow criticism from those subordinate to you, but when you realise that those below you on the ladder looking up see your nakedness more than those besides you or above you ever will, you will be liberated from your fear. Allowing them to call out that nakedness will arm you for the rest of the climb more than anything else will.
Superhero type of leaders tend to lead by decree. “It is my way or the highway!”. Those types though quickly fall on their own swords with no one around them to offer the much needed first aid. Humble leaders lead differently. They encourage others to help them lead. They share, they delegate, and they teach. Leadership, like any other challenge, is best dealt with in small pieces. Share out the different aspects of the task and you will find that it is dealt with faster and more efficiently than if you tried to do it all alone, only giving orders rather than delegating responsibility. As you delegate though, ensure you demonstrate trust. To trust you will have had to play a big part in growing capability to handle the task in the first place. Once confident that the necessary capability has been built, only interfere when consulted for support. Once the task is accomplished, exercise maturity and fairness in assessing the output and ensure relevant and timely feedback is given.
In doing all this ensure you play your core role of growing others to succeed you. The silent power of humility allows you the strength to do so by ridding you of the fear of developing successors to be better than you are, for it helps you realise that the only way for humanity to keep growing is for the current generation to better than the last and the future one better than the current.
In closing, remember to “be good to the people on the way up the ladder because you will meet them on the way down” as sung by the late Lucky Dube in stating out his version of Heraclitus’s famous words.
