Is Humble Leadership About Humility?
I love the overall premise of Humble Leadership: that, “leadership is always a relationship, and truly successful leadership thrives in the substrate of high openness and trust.” (1) The book challenges the notion of a superstar leader and non-relational hierarchies within organizations, arguing for a more collaborative, inclusive, open and relational team environment. In this kind of environment, the leader is more facilitator than a ‘hero’ with all the answers, and trusting teams, together, create new and better paths forward.
This emphasis away from the leader as ‘hero’ is one that I celebrate every time I see it! In our North American evangelical sub-culture, we often find churches wanting their pastors to have the answer for everything and we see Pastors wanting to be heroes ‘for Jesus’ and expand their influence beyond their church. Katelyn Beaty writes about this unhealthy and dangerous leadership dynamic within the church in her book Celebrities For Jesus: “[celebrity often]…has more power over the user (the Pastor) than the user has over it. It turns out to be a wild animal—cunning, slippery, and insidious. And that wild animal is now tearing up the house of God from the inside out.” (2) So, any time any author suggests an alternative leadership style beyond the ‘superstar model’, I am all ears! In this respect, Schein and Schein offer a compelling alternative to the ‘top down’ command and control organization, arguing for the importance of healthy relationships that develop trust and psychological safety within the organization. (3). To all of this I give a hearty, “AMEN!”
Having said that, I did struggle with an essential concept of the book: their definition of humility. A flag went up for me early in the book when I read, “As we have noted in previous works, humility is not typically associated with leadership (Schein & Schein, 2018, 2021).” (4)
Really?
I thought of Jim Collins, a leadership guru, writing an article entitled “Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve” way back in 2001, arguing that the best leaders in companies now are a mixture of both fierce resolve and humility. (5) I thought about a previous author our cohort read, Julian Treasure, who notes that good communicators (an essential task of leadership) require good listening, and being a good listener requires humility: “Listening comes best from humility, not self-importance. With a modest or at least right-sized self-image, we are able to admit much more easily to the possibility of learning…rather than having to know everything or be right.” (6) There are lots of other examples—suffice it to say, there has been a decent amount written about the importance of humility in relationship to leadership in the past 20 years.
That detail aside, I struggled more with the author’s definition of humility, specifically what they call ‘situational humility’: “Situational humility is a developed skill characterized by the openness to see and understand all the elements of a situation by:
1. Accepting uncertainty, while remaining curious to find out what is really going on,
2. Being open, intentionally and mindfully, to what others may know or observe, and
3. Recognizing when unconscious biases can distort perceptions and trigger emotional responses.” (8)
Naming humility as a ‘skill’ didn’t sit right with me, and the three numbered points above could be described as being adaptable and curious, appreciating others, and being emotionally aware/intelligent. All good things, but could someone be ‘good’ at these things and still be arrogant in the skillset they have as a leader? I think so.
Their redefinition of what it means to be humble is further evidenced at the beginning of chapter three when they write, “we highlight actual situations in which the personality of the formally appointed leaders might never be described as ‘humble’ in the traditional sense, yet their foundational leadership methods have demonstrated situational humility…” (9)
I would argue that the examples are not described as ‘humble’ in the ACTUAL sense! It’s a methodology.
Here is another example on page 39: “Again, we suggest that Humble leadership is a process, reflecting not character traits as much as collective values that individuals and groups bring to their work.” (10)
Humility, as I understand it, is precisely a character trait. It is not a skill to be learned so that you can create a relationally healthy and productive work environment, as good as that outcome is. Humility isn’t a skill…it’s a way of being. It is a character characteristic that (Christians believe) the Spirit grows up in our lives as we are transformed into the image of God. It’s a realistic sense of who we truly are with all of our strengths and weaknesses, a true sense of who others are made in God’s image, and who God is in relation to His creation. It’s a virtue that is formed in us and it impacts the way we do everything in life, including our leading—NOT because it’s a good leadership strategy/methodology, but because it’s good humanity which leads to good leadership.
Another way to say it: humility is not a means to an end (being a good leader)—it is something much more internal and important that radically shapes how any person lives and leads.
Somewhat ironically, a recent blog post on humility in leadership noted the three key results of leadership that is being done by humble leaders as:
• First, humble leaders are often more open to feedback and criticism.
• Second, humble leaders are also more likely to build strong relationships with their team members.
• Finally, humble leaders tend to be more flexible and adaptable. (10)
These three points are some of the key points that Schein and Schein make in their book, but without the need to (incorrectly, in my view) redefine humility as a skill or creating a new phrase, ‘situational humility.’
Having said all of that…I see value in this book and I could quite easily use much of the content by simply using the phrase, “Humble leadership”. Their overall premise and their closing predictions for leading in the future are all very insightful.
If I had more words I would engage in a deeper discussion about the various levels of relationship (12) within the workplace that cause organizations to thrive. I believe relationships in church workplaces are particularly difficult to navigate as we are co-workers, bosses, employees, mentors, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ. This makes church work-based relationships very tricky and can often cause MORE hurt or harm when employment issues go sideways.
(1) Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership: The Powers of Relationships, Openness, and Trust (First edition. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018) ix.
(2) Katelyn Beaty, Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits are Hurting the Church (Ada, MI: Brazos Press, 2022), 8.
(3) Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership: The Powers of Relationships, Openness, and Trust (First edition. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018) 21.
(4) Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership: The Powers of Relationships, Openness, and Trust (First edition. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018) 4.
(5) Jim Collins, “Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve,” Harvard Business Review 79 (January 2001): 67–77.
(6) Julian Treasure, How to Be Heard: Secrets for Powerful Speaking and Listening (Coral Gables, FL: Mango Publishing, 2017), 160.
(7) Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership: The Powers of Relationships, Openness, and Trust (First edition. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018) 8.
(8) Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership: The Powers of Relationships, Openness, and Trust (First edition. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018) 35.
(9) Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership: The Powers of Relationships, Openness, and Trust (First edition. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018) 39.
(10) https://managementconsulted.com/humility-in-leadership/#:~:text=Humility%20is%20actually%20a%20strength,ingredients%20for%20any%20successful%20team.
(11) Edgar H. Schein and Peter A. Schein, Humble Leadership: The Powers of Relationships, Openness, and Trust (First edition. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018) 15.
About the Author
Scott Dickie
7 responses to “Is Humble Leadership About Humility?”
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Hi Scott,
I appreciate your post and your thoughts on humility not being a skill but a way of being that requires transformation. Using humility as a means to an end that doesn’t value people isn’t humility.
So here’s your opportunity for more words. How would you use or not use the Schein’s levels of relationships in the church? Do you have a different way to conceptualize those “tricky” work church-based relationships and how might those develop and deepen? How is humility part of that?
Hi Jenny,
Great question! A few more words regarding a complex topic: I think it’s important and essential that church staffs have authentic and meaningful relationships with one another. If there’s a issue in most evangelical churches I see…it’s not that there are meaningful relationships, but a lack of clarity that there are more than ‘one hat’ that we all wear as a staff member. So we are brothers & sisters in Christ and part of the same church community, we might be casual work-friends or meaningful friends inside and outside work….BUT we are also co-workers, supervisors, supervisees, employees etc… and I see lots of pain and hurt when church leadership within the staff swing from one side to the other (ie. we were all friends and Christians until I got fired. Or conversely, this is my workplace, and now we’re supposed to get into groups and share our deep secrets together and I wasn’t prepared for that).
So…I think the most healthy staffs recognize from the beginning the complex relational make up of a Church staff and acknowledge that we are simultaneously always wearing different ‘hats’…and to be clear what hats we are wearing in the various interactions we have with one another. Sometimes this might include making explicit what is implicit: literally saying, “I’m coming to you as a friend right now…”
Recognizing this, which also includes recognizing the embedded power differential between ‘friends’ on the team, and naming it and helping the team manage it well….would go a long way (I think) to ensuring there is less disillusionment and hurt for those employed in Christian organizations/churches.
A few initial thoughts…
Hi Scott,
I like your statement, “Another way to say it: humility is not a means to an end (being a good leader)—it is something much more internal and important that radically shapes how any person lives and leads.”
Humble leadership/Servant Leadership, somehow I am connecting the two.
Lately I have been from from humble and as a result conflict has emerged in my work in Ukraine.
Pam Lau spoke about the root word of humble to be found in humus, or dirt.
As a gardener this has special meaning for me since I am constantly evaluating soil and trying to amend them for better plant growth….but I digress.
For the non Christian writers of this book, I imagine they are moving towards polycentric leadership (Tammy spoke about this during the advance) and team leadership (Northouse).
Thanks for reminding me that Humility is NOT the means to an end.
Shalom.
I think that’s a fair connection Russell–humble leaders can truly be servant leaders and sustain such a leadership posture over time. I’m sure we have both seen the ‘humble leader’ taking the posture of a servant for ‘selfish’ reasons: Wanting to be liked, wanting to get promoted, looking for compliments, sucking up to a boss, etc… My perspective is that ‘servant leadership’ can be faked for a time…but if it’s motivated by other impulses apart from a humble heart, that form of leaders eventually ends (often with someone getting angry and proclaiming no one recognizes how much of a servant they are being!). A humble leader has given up the selfish motivations and the necessity for people’s approval. They are simply doing their part to honour God and bless others…and that is enough.
May there be more and more true humble/servant leaders within the Armed Forces and the Church!
Hi, Scott~ As always, I appreciate your critical thinking on this post. My confession as I respond to your thoughts is that I didn’t write what I really wanted to write about this book or humble leadership because I chose to explore the definitions of humility. With that being said, you wrote:
“Having said that, I did struggle with an essential concept of the book: their definition of humility. A flag went up for me early in the book when I read, “As we have noted in previous works, humility is not typically associated with leadership (Schein & Schein, 2018, 2021).” (4)
I appreciate your overview of Level 5 leaders and Julian Treasure. What I’ve discovered is that humility is a relatively “new” term applied to leadership in the business world, in the academic world and in leadership as a whole. Typically, humility was written about as a negative attribute meaning to think less of oneself or using self-abasing terms to talk about oneself.
Where I do agree with the authors is that Humility, in its truest sense of the word, has not been applied to leadership theory. Again, here’s what I didn’t say that I wanted to: Humility is recognizing all of one’s strengths and all of one’s limits/weaknesses and offering them for the whole of a group, team, community, or family. Humility is getting new attention and from I am reading in your post–you recognize we must define it properly. So here’s my question for you (no extra reading assignment this week :): At the end of your post, you say you would go deeper with your discussion of Levels of relationships within church employees/the risk of them going sideways. In your experience, what would humility look like for real in a church employment setting where staff members, pastors and others addressed their hurts and conflicts?
Great Question Pam. You started answering it yourself even as you asked it: “where staff members, pastors and others addressed their hurts and conflicts.”
At least that, but also what the authors point out in their book with their three points (referenced above) and the three bullet points I quote from a website above. Humility–that is, the character virtue of maintaining a correct perspective on yourself, others, and God–will facilitate all of those things within an organization. Perhaps one other important outcome of humility within a culture is the practice of vulnerable sharing because we know we don’t have to be strong or spectacular and that it’s ok to have some undone parts in our lives…and we can share that because we know we won’t be judged.
My issue was not so much with the author’s described results of ‘situational humility’…but their co-opting of one of the highest Christian virtues and reducing it down to a leadership skill to achieve a desired leadership end. In my view, that was unnecessary and would not have diminished their book at all if they simply spoke to the ‘Humble Leader’ as their title suggested.
Reading Humble Leadership is like being handed a mirror that doesn’t just reflect the leader, but the entire team.
It’s a reminder that leadership isn’t a one-man show where the spotlight shines only on the single leader, but rather a team effort where everyone gets to shine.
We don’t need pastors or leaders to be ‘heroes’—we need them to be facilitators of trust and relationship. If humility is simply a methodology to achieve this, it loses its heart. True humility is about who we are, not just what we do.
Such a good post Scott!