Management Mess to Leadership Success

You don’t have all the answers. Show more humility by listening better and not overreacting.

The opposite of humility is arrogance. Author Scott Jeffrey Miller learned this the hard way when he antagonized his team members on his first day as their boss, punishing them for being late and recommending that they find other jobs. He had no idea how his arrogance hurt his credibility. Luckily, he learned from his mistake and built a better relationship with his employees.

As an executive at the FranklinCovey leadership consultancy and as the host of popular programs on iHeart Radio, Miller has interviewed many leaders. He finds that humility is the quality they value most. Humble leaders don’t need outside validation. They are outward-looking and seek to help others. They find that being humble builds character. However, humility requires listening to others. Miller admits he has a propensity for bombarding people with questions instead of giving them space to share their ideas. He learned to close his mouth to make himself listen. When you don’t listen, you fall into making assumptions and evaluating, advising and probing...