Humility comes from the Latin word humilitas, which could be loosely translated as grounded. In the leadership context, this is about being the opposite of arrogant, being grounded in the service of those you lead and in caring for the well-being of others.

Does that mean you care and serve your people in a way that prioritises them over high levels of performance? Absolutely not, I am talking about REAL WORLD leadership here. It means by having humility in your interactions with your people you can achieve both. You can build high performance and well-being, which leads to sustainable levels of high performance.

Leadership humility is the gift that keeps on giving because it’s also a key ingredient to the development of cultural sensitivity. Cultural sensitivity is another essential leadership competence that helps leaders successfully engage with people who have diverse identities and different cultural backgrounds. Who wouldn’t want their leaders to be culturally humble and competent?

But how? Well, I have a whole webinar and blog article on cultural competence and cultural humility, so I won’t cover that here, but one thing stands out and that’s the link between humility (cultural or otherwise) and an individual’s level of emotional intelligence (Khali, 2021).

The bottom line, the more emotionally intelligent your leaders are the more they develop leadership humility. For more on how to develop both, click here: https://bexceptional.com.au/better-you/leadership-development/emotional-intelligence-coaching/