Be Humble and Be Rich

When I teach people how to play nice in the sandbox, and move through conflict, I encourage humility. Productive and peaceful relationships in business positively affects profit.

Humility means to be equal to others; not above or below them. Recognizing that you’re a part of the grand force that created all things will help you find that balance. Humility is not about thinking less of yourself, rather, it’s thinking about yourself less.

Watch my video for 3 tips to foster a humble approach in your workplace.

Here are three tips to foster a humble approach in your workplace: 

1. Check your ego.  While the ego’s job is to protect us, it can act as a wall between what we feel needs protection, and the connection we desire.  Ego doesn’t drive a humble person, because they’re not motivated to impress or dominate others. When we’re humble, we’re free from preoccupation with ourselves.  An inflated self-image is a burden that steals our creative energy.  Imagine if we put that energy to better use? 

2. Allow yourself to make mistakes. To grow, we must take risks, and we will make mistakes along the way.  When you make mistakes, admit to them.  People value truth, honesty and vulnerability more than one’s false sense of perfection. 

3. Listen to people.  Talk more about ‘them’ than you.  Conversations are more pleasant when you’re open to what others say.  

It’s inspiring to work with humble people; especially a humble leader. We use a figure of speech, “on a high horse” when referring to an arrogant, superior person, and we wish they’d get off.  

Some experiences knock us off our high horse, and we become grounded—more down to earth—and that helps us relate to others better. People listen to you when they perceive you as “down to earth”.  They’re attracted … they ‘lean in’ because your demeanor is inviting 

What seems like a blow to the ego can serve as a lesson in humility, and with that we expand.   With gratitude for the humbling experience, we can pick ourselves up, learn the lesson, get back on our horse to ride forward—not above others, not below, but together among people supporting each other. 

A great example of humility is Mother Theresa. You don’t have to be a Saint to be humble, you can find exemplars of humility in your own community, but you’ll have to look hard, because humble people aren’t out to prove themselves to others. 

Thanks for reading.  I’m humbly hoping you found some great value in this tip. If you would like to learn more, contact me and remember...

Your greatest leadership day, is with Penny Tremblay.

Penny