Humility in my perspective is one of the most intelligent characteristics of human beings. It is critical to recognize that there is much more to what we don't know than what we do know. Strictly speaking, we know very little. What we don't know is overwhelmingly superior to what little we think we know.

However, it is important not to confuse humility with self-deprecation.

Humility is a posture of conscience, it is the ability to constantly keep looking for the best. Being humble is not diminishing our skills or not having confidence in our abilities or work.

Being humble is having the ability to say: I don't know. It is to be aware that, no matter how well we do things, there is always room to do better. It is recognizing that no matter how good our ideas are, they can always be improved.

Being humble is having the ability to listen to others, more than just listening and recognizing that we don't know everything. Humility is powerful (and a strong antidote to excess ego) because, once we become aware of our limitations, we open up a whole field of influence around us (people, books, mentors).

Humility is the best medicine

In one of the greatest leadership classics, From Good to Excellent, Jim Collins looks at a set of companies and develops a model of behavioral patterns based on this study.

Of the companies studied in the sample, only a third had gone “from good to excellent”, the rest had not gone beyond the level “good”.

Collins concluded that those thirds of companies that failed to make the leap and become outstanding had at least one thing in common: they were run by executives with colossal egos. In other words, instead of designing companies for exceptionality and excellence, egos end up undermining their development.

The best managers, according to Collins, exhibit two characteristics: great intensity in the search for results and enormous humility.

It's the leaders who let their team shine, who don't want the laurels for themselves, who want to be forgotten because that means the best will always follow, that the company doesn't stagnate after them.

It is curious: a common feature of high performance people, from sports to the business world, is that they all have their mentors, their idols, their coaches.

If we want to be our best, we all need that outside influence, which gives us what we can't have on our own: the outside view, another perspective.

One of the most important lessons we can convey to someone with ambition is that:

To progress, to reach a higher level, demanding and experienced, it is necessary to be exposed to external influences, and this is only possible from a position of humility.

Ultimately, great humility will be the sign of great self-confidence. Only in this way can we safely open up to others, enable a true ideological dialogue within the organizations in which we are involved and participate, a debate of ideas where no one feels threatened and everyone contributes their best.