A Leader’s Checklist: Pride vs. Humility
Proverbs 10:17 reads, “People who accept correction are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore it will lead others away.”
One of my most significant leadership coaching clients allowed me to do on a 360° Listening Tour with his direct reports. The purpose? To uncover unvarnished feedback and actionable intel to both his raving strengths and blind spots. We gained great insights to form a strategy for our upcoming coaching focus to increase his influence, impact, and ability to empower others— a great example of humility in leadership.
Pride is a weakness.
Humility is a strength.
Pride is a roadblock to potential.
Humility is a gateway to influential leadership.
Humility and openness does not mean being weak or insecure, it just means you value the input of those you are charged to lead.
Here a leaders checklist to pride vs. humility:
PRIDE
- Discounts the need for team building trust
- Is not teachable
- Closes down to feedback and resists actionable intel to improve skills
- Rarely admits wrong-doing or mistakes
- Has no personal development plan in place
- Encourages the need for team-building and trust-filled conversations
- Is teachable and strives to learn and try-on new behaviors
- Is wide open to feedback and asked for the unvarnished truth in order to improve leadership influence
- Admits when wrong and takes responsibility— does not accuse others to excuse self
- Is a great active listener and asks insightful questions
- Has a clear personal development plan and works with a coach, team, and mentors to increase potential.
— Steve
As a master storyteller, Steve has unparalleled ability to communicate dynamic business and leadership truths through stories, anecdotes and humor. Harness the power of the “number one” predictor of professional success, impact, leadership, high performance and sustainable relationships in business and life. Steve’s highest rated keynote presentation.
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“The purpose of Leadership Quest is to help professionals develop their personal leadership, vision and emotional intelligence. Everyday I strive to help leaders and teams achieve their desired goals in sales productivity, leadership, time maximization, and life-balance. ”
About the Author
Steve Gutzler is the President of Leadership Quest, a Seattle-based leadership development company. Steve is a dynamic, highly-sought-after speaker who has delivered more than 2,500 presentations to a list of clients including Microsoft, Starbucks, the Seattle Seahawks, Pandora Radio, Boeing, Cisco, Starwood Corporation, the Ritz Carlton group, and the U.S. Social Security Administration. He recently was voted #1 by the readership of Huffington Post as the Most Inspirational Leader on Social Media.
A published author on leadership and emotional intelligence, Steve resides near Seattle with his wife Julie where they enjoy time with their three adult children and six grandchildren.
