Humility in business means that you realize that you are vulnerable to the cycles of success and failure just like everyone else – that you are not in total control of your own destiny.
This posting is part of, The 7 Most Important Core Values For Business
What Is Humility?
Humility is…..
- is a great skill
- is essential to leadership
- is very important in business and with clients
- is a heart that esteems others greater than itself
- is a beautiful and powerful emotion
Humility is a great skill because it not only brings leaders closer to their management teams and employees, but also encourages similar candidness and humility in others. By taking the first step in revealing their vulnerabilities, leaders encourage an atmosphere where concerns and doubts are voiced…. It’s difficult to do, but expressing vulnerabilities appropriately will make leaders more effective. This willingness to increase self-knowledge and then be humble before people and problems is part of what we teach.
Humility is essential to leadership because it authenticates a person’s humanity. We humans are frail creatures; we have our faults. Recognizing what we do well, as well as what we do not do so well, is vital to self-awareness and paramount to humility.
Humility is very important in business and with clients. Never forget how hard it can be to forge a new client relationship and how easy it can be to lose one. It is not just about plans and products, it’s about people and relationships. People can choose to change who they want to do business with at any time for any reason they want. Thank your clients often for the privilege of doing business with them.
Humility is a heart that esteems others greater than itself. Humility serves others, submits, and desires. Humility is the first virtue in spiritual life. It is the vanguard that protects virtues and talents. Every virtue that is not accompanied by humility is likely to be snatched away by the vain glory, and destroyed by conceit, boastfulness and self-admiration.
It takes courage to be able to take action and assert an authentic identity, to do things that might fail. To assert oneself in the presence of fear, without courage we yield to fear, avoid risk and are unfulfilled. Humility is the flip side of courage. It is the ability to step back and let go of an identity and say this isn’t working.
Some people look at humility as a weakness. The opposite is true. One who is truly humble has power. Humility helps us to accept our limitations and our humanity. It makes room for the higher power in our lives. If one is on a spiritual path it is essential. It allows us to admit when we are wrong.
Humility is a beautiful and powerful emotion, but perhaps misunderstood, overlooked or even avoided by the masses. It is viewed as “weak” by some. Those that practice humility know its power and hold it as one of the most important emotions to embody.
Humility opens one up energetically, to listen, to apologize, to understand another or to accept our humanity. Its presence weakens and suffocates the ego, making room for spirit and authentic power to shine. Humility is an essential emotion if you’re on a spiritual path. Without it, finding a state of enlightenment isn’t likely.
A Lesson In Humility Story
There was a young man who desired humility. He went to an old wise man and said to him, “Sir, I wish to be humble, but I don’t know how to obtain it. What must I do to acquire humility?”
The old wise man thought for a minute and replied, “Here is what you should do… go out and find someone who is beneath you and do something nice for him. Give him something that you have or do something for him that needs to be done.”
The young man replied, “I can do that!” He immediately left and came upon a homeless man on the street who looked like he had not eaten in days. He took the man to a restaurant and bought him a nice hot meal. After he dropped off the homeless man, the young man, who was feeling pretty good, returned to the wise man and told him what he had done. He then asked him, “Do I now have humility?”
The wise old man replied, “Not yet!” The young man’s face fell and after a while, he asked the wise man, “What else must I do to acquire humility?” The wise man said, “Go out and find someone else who is beneath you and do something nice for him.”
This upset the young man who replied, “But I did that already! If I go help someone else, will I then have humility?” The wise man replied, “No you will not!”
This upset the young man even more and he asked, “How many people do I have to help… 10 people?”
“No!”
“100 people?”
“No!”
“I don’t understand… please tell me how many people I have to help? How will I know when I have obtained humility?” asked the young man.
The wise old man replied, “You will have obtained humility when you can no longer find anyone that you think is beneath you!”
Seek Humility
Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed!
Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
[ True Wisdom Comes from God ] If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.
Just Remember:
Ralph W. SockmanResources
Bounce!: Failure, Resiliency, and Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success
The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow
