When people ask me, “How can I become a values-based leader?” I always respond with my four principles: self-reflection, a balanced perspective, true-self-confidence, and genuine humility. As the first of the four, self-reflection is the foundational principle of values-based leadership, encouraging regular (ideally, daily) introspection about our values, priorities and goals, as well as our behaviors and interactions with others.
The other three principles build upon that foundation: a balanced perspective that seeks to understand others, especially those whose views differ from our own; true self-confidence to recognize our strengths and acknowledge our weaknesses; and genuine humility, which carries the double duty of showing respect to everyone and never forgetting who we are, where we came from and all of those that helped us along the way.
Today, as many of us prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving and focus on what we are grateful for, I’d like to focus on genuine humility. As I addressed in an earlier blog, the more genuinely humble (i.e., it’s not an act) a leader is, the more the team will relate and engage. There are other benefits for us, as well, in remembering where we came from and everyone who helped shape us.
My Story
I think back to my upbringing in New York and Pennsylvania, although my dad’s job as a salesman meant we moved all over the place. As the oldest of five, with three younger brothers and a sister, I was expected to step up and help out around the house and with my siblings. You might say I fell into a leadership role pretty early.
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