Humility is an important and desired character trait, especially for those who are in (or seeking) leadership positions. The formal book definition of this word is “to be free of pride or arrogance.” For a leader, having humility frees them from the constraints of one’s pride or arrogance, allowing them to interact more positively with others and make clearer decisions.
In fact, humility plays a key role in the concept of emotional intelligence (EI), which is a very popular topic in today’s leadership development. EI is the characteristic needed by someone to be successful in their position and in a leadership role. This is an area that has undergone a significant generational shift, as leaders had traditionally been directive because showing humility was considered a potential sign of weakness. Not anymore, as the newer generations want to connect personally with their leader as more of a coach and mentor, rather than a traditional supervisor.
So, if displaying humility is so important (especially for a leadership role), how can someone stand out in this area during the recruitment process? Well, there are some subtle and rather simple things you can do and say to highlight your depth in this area and impress the recruiter and/or hiring manager.
• Be Collaborative: You will want to explain to the hiring manager how you work well with others, either on your own or across teams. You seek out others’ opinions and ideas in order to promote teamwork. You don’t work in a directive manner with your staff, but rather in a way that all get involved and feel important. Share an example of a successful work project that involved several others.
• Acknowledge You Don’t Know Everything: Strong leaders are not afraid of surrounding themselves with talented people. These talented individuals may even know more than the leaders in certain areas. This makes the overall team stronger, which benefits the organization due to increased performance. Also, seeking the advice and expertise of your team will further engage them, due to feeling increasingly appreciated.
• You’re Always Learning: In today’s work environment, continuous learning is critical, as styles, laws, processes are constantly changing. You want to express how you know that you need to evolve, and you have a curiosity for learning that makes sure you are always improving. Share with your hiring manager something that you have improved upon recently.
• Stress Communication: You don’t work in a vacuum, but rather meet regularly with your staff as a group and individually. You keep your employees aware of pertinent items that will impact them and seek out their feedback. You also try to keep others in the organization in the loop and work hard at “managing up”, so your manager is aware of what your team is accomplishing. Note (for the asking interviewer) how your staff meetings and individual touch bases are so important for the success of everyone involved.
• It’s a Team Effort: Any obtained success is due to the efforts of the greater team, and not just you. During the interview, you should make sure to use “we” and not “I” as much as possible. While there is nothing wrong with noting your individual contribution, you should reference how the team worked well together to obtain success.
• Developing Others: We mentioned earlier the concept of a manager being more of a coach and mentor to their team. This includes working with them directly to develop them for future career opportunities. By opening up and sharing your work lessons, you will show them that you don’t view their development to be a threat, but rather how much their success means to you. Share a success story of the career growth of a person you personally mentored.
• Caring About Staff: Humility can also be displayed in a variety of other ways to your staff and others. Displaying strong listening skills is a sign of humility because it reinforces how important other thoughts are and how you genuinely want to hear and learn from them. Furthermore, caring holistically about your team and showing an interest in them beyond the work that they accomplish will help reduce turnover and increase productivity and satisfaction.
It was not that long ago that the concept of being humble and pursuing a job in an interview to be two polar opposites. However, the newer generations have mandated a philosophical change in this area, and managers need to be more consultative and more open to not knowing everything (or even being wrong on occasion). The good news is that, during the interview process, there are ways to present this as a differentiator compared to others seeking the role.
Similarly, this can also be reversed, because you should be looking for these same traits from the hiring manager as a sign of how they will work and interact with you. You deserve the same humility from your manager as your staff receives from you!
As always, best of luck in your job search.
The following has been prepared for the general information of WNYJobs readers. It is not meant to provide advice with respect to any specific legal or policy matter and should not be acted upon without verification by the reader.
Joe Stein
WNY Human Resources Professional
Feel free to contact Joe Stein regarding questions or comments at:
Joe Stein
