Choose Humble Strength Over Arrogant Weakness
The following readers won copies of The Vagrant because they left a comment on yesterday’s post:
- Rachel Hines
- Douglas Camburn
- Andrea Westbrook
- Lyndon B. Risser
- Cato Thomas
We’re giving away 5 more copies today.
The book, “The Vagrant: The Inner Journey of Leadership,” is a cautionary tale about a leader who could use just a touch more humility. It’s my story. It might be yours.
Arrogance stumbles over itself.
Choose Humble Strength Over Arrogant Weakness
- Humility strengthens; arrogance weakens (even though it presents the illusion of strength).
- Humility learns; arrogance knows.
- Humble leaders submit to noble values and don’t bend. Arrogant leaders are governed by personal convenience and self-serving advantage.
- Humility listens; arrogance tells.
- Humility serves; arrogance leaves a trail of exploitation.
- Humble leaders pour into others. Arrogant leaders need you to pour into them.
- Humility opens hearts; arrogance builds walls.
- Humility pulls with; arrogance stands aloof.
- Humble leaders connect; arrogant leaders pull away.
- Humility gives rise to empathy; arrogance produces indifference.
- Humility seeks to understand; arrogance seeks to explain.
- Humility presses forward; arrogance has arrived.
- Humility trusts; arrogance doubts.
- Humility collaborates; arrogance isolates.
- Humility seeks feedback; arrogance rejects criticism.
- Humility promotes growth; arrogance offends potential.
Humble leaders ask:
- What can we learn?
- What could we do better?
- What causes others to flourish?
- What are my most useful contributions?
Necessity:
Skills are important for success, but humility is necessary. Choose a less skilled humble leader over a more skilled arrogant leader every time.
Arrogant leaders might succeed but they’re not successful.
Every leadership skill is made beautiful by humility.
The noble pursuit:
Humility is always pursued, never attained. Always practiced, never simply talked about.
Leadership is first about humility then about skills.
Which item(s) on the above list seem most relevant to you?
What’s a simple way a leader could practice humility today?
We’re choosing 5 people who leave a comment on today’s post to receive a complimentary copy of The Vagrant, my new book co-authored with John David Mann.
If you don’t win today, you have one more chance tomorrow!
This offer is limited to US/Canada.
Order The Vagrant:
One of your best posts!
Thank you for this!
Humility isn’t flashy. It’s respectful and tries to consider the welfare of people and the enterprise. Great post to reflect upon.
Thanks for all your Leadership insight Dan! Great read today! and the Bible says “God resists the proud, but gives GRACE to the Humble”! James 4:6
Humility is good regardless of what you are doing. You can learn from every experience.
Humility serves; arrogance leaves a trail of exploitation. Leadership is about serving others beyond your immediate circle.
“Humility is always pursued, never attained”. Great way to put it. When I think of practicing humility, I think of practicing love. True love.
Great reminder that this is a daily thing to be sought after. We don’t accomplish humility and stay parked there.
A humble leader never feels they have “finished” or have succeeded. They win when their team wins. Humility = job satisfaction, knowing that you have contributed to someone else’s success.
As usual, exactly what I needed to read today. I loved reading Humility pours into others. When I feel like I given it all and have nothing left to give, I wonder if I’m doing it wrong. This reminded me that I’m not and it’s part of being a good leader.
We should never be so arrogant as leaders that we don’t consider other people’s opinions and ideas. It’s difficult as a leader of an office to discount new employees especially younger ones simply because we have more experience. Sometimes new ideas can launch our company forward. We should always be willing to expand ourselves as leaders and be willing to learn. Humility as opposed to arrogance. Great reminder.
‘Humility trusts; arrogance doubts.’ I needed to hear that today.
Very enlightening read today.
“Humility is always pursued, never attained.” Great quote and lesson for today!
I think one way a leader can practice humility is to identify the strengths of those around them. Once you identify those strengths you can help those strengths shine by highlighting them. You can also learn from them to go stronger in those same areas.
Thank you for the post.
Wonderful lesson and reminders for each day forward. Thank you!
As I was reading this and continuing to be amazed at why some leaders embrace being arrogant and some people choose to follow and aspire to be like them, you revealed the answer in the end – “Humility is always pursued, never attained.” It’s a lot easier to be a jerk and “arrive” than to be humble and thrive.
The entire list is insightful! However, “Every leadership skill is made beautiful by humility.” is the major takeaway for me. Also, leaders can assess and be honest with themselves in first acknowledging which they truly are. In either case, they must decide to do better. Thank you!!
I like 2, 4 and 15. Good post.
I agree with Mr. Thornton. #14 is also a favorite.
Wowee! This post spoke directly to me today! This has always been what my heart felt but to see a numbered list (weird numbering😂) contrasted with the anti-humble quality was beautiful. Imagine if we all practiced more humility…how might our workplace, household, world be different…
Oh, my so many great views of HUMBLE! Love all of them.
my favorite- “Humility seeks to understand; arrogance seeks to explain.”
Such insight! Humility is critical to team unity and development. Thank you for sharing!
Arrogance settles in and sets up its guard against anything that would unseat it; humility is always moving on, continuing the pursuit of what is right.
Nobody knows everything about anything. Life is about being humble and learning. And most importantly embrace and admit our mistakes. Thanks Dan!
As I am a growing a brand new team and learning their personalities these questions and statements are a great resource! Best for me today is: Humility seeks to understand; arrogance seeks to explain.
I have printed the list of 16 out and posted it in my office as a reminder that leadership is first about humility then skills. When I think about the great leaders that I have had the opportunity to work with in my different roles, this is exactly what they did.
This is a powerful list and all are relevant; however, the one I keep coming back to is: “Humble leaders submit to noble values and don’t bend. Arrogant leaders are governed by personal convenience and self-serving advantage.”
Today, I will look at every choice as an opportunity – one to do what is right or take the easiest road. In making my decision, I will strive to do what is right, no matter how difficult the task may seem.
Interesting post! While humility is certainly more important than weakness, the main challenge could be that some people take humility as weakness.
Humility is needed today more than ever especially by our political leaders. Share this post. I look forward to reading this book.
Humility is necessary to learn.
two decades ago we discovered that Humility was practiced value in our organization. I now learnt the various advantages. I also see how this one value has influenced our team operating principles. Thanks dan.
Always ready for a good book 🙂
I believe humility is the best way to build trust and rapport with my clients. Many times I’ve seen perfect execution of a project in an arrogant way is way worse than imperfect execution with humility.
“If serving is beneath you, leadership is beyond you.”
I wonder who said that. I see multiple attributions online.
I love this idea and can’t wait to share it with my very young leadership team!
I love this and want to share with entire team so idea is reinforced despite title or position.
Humility gives as much to the one being humble as it does to those experiencing the humble acts. It’s just not as flashy!
Such a tough self-reflection.
It is easy to think we are humble, when we do not perform the obvious actions of arrogance. However, looking through the list, I am not humble in every situation.
Explaining/Telling/Doubting doesn’t feel that it comes from a place of arrogance, but maybe it does. I do not do these all of the time, but enough to recognize that from time to time, I do.
Great post. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble…James 4:6. We can all stumble towards being proud, but humility is always better. We are also told, pride cometh before the fall. Thanks, Dan, for these great reminders.
This is a lesson for all of society. Arrogance is easy across social media.
The humble “asks” provide a beautiful framework for 1.1s, setting a daily intention, after action reviews, and reflective journaling. Practicing a humble approach allows for discovery and intentional growth. Thank you!
I’m posting this in my office. The list of humility vs. arrogance is priceless as a reminder of what we should strive to be. . . and impart to our colleagues.
Love this post! If every person picked just one action item, wouldn’t the world be a better place?
Although it sounds contradicting: “Humility strengthens; arrogance weakens (even though it presents the illusion of strength).” makes a lot of sense. It is like the the branch that is flexible and the wood that is not elastic. One can navigate the storms better than the other.
#2 is one of my favorites: Humility learns; arrogance knows. Humility is an infinite game!
This is a great post with so many valuable points. The one that really spoke to me was, “Humility learns; arrogance knows.”
I have just found this quote that I like: “Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real”. Then there is CS Lewis who wrote that “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less”.
Hi Dan, I did a quick search. I haven’t verified it yet, but looks like Thomas Merton said, “Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.” I hadn’t heard that one before today. Thanks
This a great message. Servant leadership is the strongest method to achieve objectives and win employees. Stay positive!
#11 Humility seeks to understand; arrogance seeks to explain. Quite Convicting: even though I may be trying sincerely to understand…their is still a strong part of me that often wants to explain…however, it often then detracts from my truly understanding. A very helpful post overall. I occasionally copy your whole posts into my Daily Journal. Patrick
I am sharing this with my administrative team! This is such a great way to lead others by using humility, to be a part of something great, to watch others flourish for the benefit of the greater goal, not one’s individual gain. Humility enables us to build trust, reflect and learn from one another.
this trait for a leader not talked about enough, thank you for today’s post!
Great post! One struggle I have found at times is striking a balance when trying to express and instill confidence while remaining humble, and this post inspires reflection. Thanks Dan!
#truth
“Humble leaders submit to noble values and don’t bend. Arrogant leaders are governed by personal convenience and self-serving advantage.”
I can appreciate that humility is critical to leadership and should be the way that we lean between these two traits, but don’t leaders have to show strength in certain situations that could be perceived as arrogance? If the whole team is scared of a new situation isn’t it the leaders job to show strength and courage to lead them through. For me this is a fine balancing act between humility and confidence when leading a team.
i would love a copy of the book! thanks for everything you do
Love this article! thank you
Humility and Honesty . . . the best leaders have both! Thank you for this article.
I share your Leadership/Life lessons with my kids multiple times a week. They are 30 and 25 and it has become a topic of conversation when we get together or speak on the phone during the week. This one strikes a cord with me as my Dad taught me 5 important lessons I have tried to pass down to my kids.
1) Faith in God
2) Self-Reliance & Personal Responsibility (Faith in Yourself)
3) Service for others (Selflessness)
4) Humility
5) Empathy
Your lessons are often striking these Chords. Thank you!
Dan, you have been a constant source of deep thought and inspiration for me through the years. Your book arrived on my doorstep two days ago and I’ve already read it once. There will be many re-readings. Thank you. And humility is my favorite leadership subject. It’s often at the heart of the issue for my leadership coaching clients. Thanks for more perfectly expressed thoughts about humility in today’s post.
Choose a less skilled humble leader over a more skilled arrogant leader every time and your team will prosper!
“Choose a less skilled humble leader over a more skilled arrogant leader every time.”
This one really hit me. Great stuff, and one I want to share with search teams over and over again.
“Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men–the other 999 follow women.” Groucho Marx
Great words to live by and so much joy comes from the reframing of your mindset to truly serving others.
Great pursuit today, and a great reminder. Thanks Dan
I appreciate the perspective that we must choose to be humble. It is not an innate characteristic, but a behavioral perspective and leadership worldview.
Humble leaders pour into others. Arrogant leaders need you to pour into them. Love this one!
Congrats Dan! I admire your ability to share so much knowledge in just 300 days everyday! I have gained a lot from you reading your work and have shared your wisdom with both friends and colleagues along the way. I agree that authentic humility central to doing is the best building block to start anything upon.
Early in my career I use to “fight to be right.” After quite a few years of that arrogance, I realized that I know very little about almost nothing and almost nothing about everything else. That change in perception was profound.
Servant leadership is foundational to successful leadership. Humility is foundational to servant leadership. Awareness of God is foundational to humility.
This is great advice Dan and I believe that this leadership style also leads to having empathy for the team members which makes for a tight group.
Humility is still one of the best biblical principles that carries over into every area of our lives! Philippians 2:3 “ do nothing out of selfish, ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves.”
That’s why it is our family life verse!
This post is timely for me. Thank you for offering this.
A former leader that I worked with would say “the best combination in an employee is Humble, Hungry, Smart” — I agree with this 100%
Humility is so essential to successful leadership. Arrogance and authority can make people line up rank and file, but they won’t inspire excellence, loyalty, or anything beyond task completion and complacency. Being a leader is a privilege and it’s the job of a leader to serve those they’re responsible for. When you can place yourself below those you lead, you not only gain their respect and trust, but you also see the work from their perspective which is where opportunity lies.
In my 9 years in a corporate environment, I have seen many arrogant and humble leaders. The humble leaders make it a point to grow and develop others, really listens, and values success of others.
This was a great article!
A humble leader allows others to shine. Their victory is when others succeed. If more people understood that there was never a statue erected to honor a critic and that you can have anything you want in life if you help enough people get what they want (thank you Mr. Zigler) this world would be a happier place to be.
What I have learned is that skill – while good – is only that: the ability to do…something. Humble people can be taught a skill, but the arrogant struggle because you can’t teach humility. You can only manifest it.
Very good read, Dan, and especially significant for me today – thank you!
Isn’t it interesting that these nuggets about being a good leader are rooted in being a good person first and foremost. When you bring genuine concern for others into the equation, it becomes much easier to humble yourself and be as open to change as you are to being a change agent. Thanks for these reminders to get down off the high horse where the perspective is much more clear.
I love getting your posts every day!
Learned this just the past month. I’m 66.
Arrogant leaders might succeed but they’re not successful
Thank you for this! So true
Another great post that applies to all pursuits in our life, not just the workplace. Thanks, Dan!
So true: “Always practiced, never simply talked about”. Humility is apparent in one’s action. To me, it’s a state of mind which manifests itself in humble actions of service, kindness & wisdom.
Another golden nugget takeaway: “Leadership is first about humility then about skills.” This simple concept has a huge impact on a business’s bottom line.
Thanks for another incredibly impactful post!
I am so appreciative of this post and especially the list; Choose Humble Strength Over Arrogant Weakness; identifying what arrogant weakness looks like and what humble strength looks like. As a leader, it is very challenging to show someone who is arrogant their arrogance. I am hoping this article will resonate with them, as it was extremely helpful for me in continuing to pursue humbleness.
I’m looking forward to reading your new book. Congratulations!
“Arrogant leaders might succeed but they’re not successful.”
See this truth played out in my workplace as well as in the world around me. Working hard to stay grounded and not be an example of this.
Coming from a Catholic school board in Canada, being humble is a virtue we aspire to in every interaction we have, so I appreciated reading this message.
This is so true and a great post!
Wait Dan what do you mean? Yesterday you asked us to practice self-reflection and today you asked us to choose humility? 🙂 I think these are 2 traits of some of the best leaders. Dr. Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi are great examples of leaders that lead with humility. It doesn’t make you weak but makes you strong. It allows you to fully engage and empower your team with the tools and support they need to be successful.
When I read your post this morning, my arrogance immediately had me thinking about other people who need to read this. Then humility stepped in, made me ashamed, and I focused on what I could learn and work harder at. Thanks so much for these wise words which point me in the right direction.
Very timely. Earlier this week I had the privilege of participating in an advisory committee engaging educational leaders across our state. After the meeting, I shared with colleagues of mine the humility exhibited by many in the room. It was obvious they were there to listen, learn, and build for the betterment of others. Thank you for the great post.
It’s a paradox, but a humble person can be comfortable in his or her own skin. Thank you, Dan.
Love this. You cannot be a servant leader and be arrogant, the two are like oil and water, they can be whisked together for a while, but ultimately one will sink and one will float to the top!
Wow! How convicting! I saved those 16 characteristics of humility because I can see how far I have yet to go and grow in those areas.
I have strong tendencies to be a pompous, arrogant ass! Leadership Freak along with my wife, keeps me in check. Thank you for humbling me! 🙂
Would love if you could add a print version. Printing the page comes out weird sometimes… Great insight!
Many people confuse humility with weakness. I also think there is a danger of mistaking avoidance as humility.
I love that Helen Keller quote — and yet she made history. Perhaps the other side of that task is to accept with humility and gratitude when our “small” acts take on larger significance.
Great read! I had to have a hard conversation with a staff member this morning that had been building since the beginning of the year. As I kept thinking about how to begin it. I could not stop thinking about how to humble myself so that a productive conversation could be had and we could work together to get to the problem solve. I love #9!
This quote stopped me in my tracks, “Every leadership skill is made beautiful by humility.”
Humility listens, arrogance knows.
We can learn so much from others if we will just listen, and accept the fact that we do not know it all.
Arrogant leaders might succeed but they aren’t successful
Such a wonderful way of contrasting the humble vs arrogant leader.
Great content on the importance of humility!
Humility lifts up those around them. Arrogance holds them down.
Humility is strength under control! Thanks Dan
This is a really good post.
A complimentary book titled “Humility” by Andrew Murray is also a good read to understand humility as practiced by Jesus Christ.
Sounds like a very interesting read
“Humility presses forward; arrogance has arrived.” Ooohhhh
How ironic my Bible verse for the day was Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”.
What you write is true, so why do we keep electing arrogance to positions of power?
Humble is one of our core values. So essential for success in an organization.
Great post. Humility can be slippery for me. My best working definition so far for Humility is: Willing to Learn. Learning can happen with anyone.
It would be worthwhile to read this every day. Spot on that humility is a lifelong quest.
LOVE this post!! The most important attributes I look for in a leader are humility, work ethic, and relationship-building.
As I head into the twilight of my career, I impress upon young leaders to support people in helping them be successful, don’t look for self-glory. Don’t blow your own horn, when you are leading with humility there is no need to.
Humility is something that I personally have had to put most of my time into improving. I feel better about this now than I did 4-5 years ago; however, I am still working at it.
Humility and letting go of the ego. So important!
Feels like I’m reading the book of Proverbs with a chapter focused on humility!
I always look forward to your blog. thank you!
Looking forward to the book. Having outside observers to help us with our own blindspots seem essential!