Set a leadership example through humility

As this year comes to a close, I have been thinking a lot about leadership. The word that keeps coming to mind is humility.

One of the things that sets great credit unions apart is great leaders. Unlike great lending strategies or growth practices, leadership isn’t something that can be easily adopted. The principles themselves are easy, but it is fundamentally thinking of yourself and others in a different way, which is much harder work. Humility is indeed a central ingredient of great leadership.

I often hear “Oh I just love that person! He/she is so humble.” But often I see those people putting themselves down or devaluing their work, and that definition has never jived well with me. Then in church this past Sunday, the teacher shared a quote from C.S. Lewis about humility and it clicked:

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”

Humility is having a healthy respect for yourself and your value. Humility is not self-deprecation or ripping on yourself. In fact, it sets a bad example for future leaders who think that they must put themselves down in front of others in order to be gain the respect of others. This causes a chain reaction because not respecting yourself often decreases the respect others have for you.

If being a better leader in 2018 is one of your New Year’s Resolutions, do yourself a big favor and start by being a great leader to YOU. Take pride in the things you have accomplished, celebrate those successes, and be a great leader by learning how to serve others around you by focusing on them and their needs.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!