Humility might not be the first quality that comes to mind when you think of leadership skills, but studies are showing that it is one of the most vital characteristics of successful leaders. Leaders who practice humility engender trust, empower their subordinates, look at failures as challenges and develop a team spirit. Humility may be too easily dismissed as a leadership quality because people associate it with weakness, but according to several leadership experts, humility simply means understanding your strengths and weaknesses and recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of others. It is important to explore your own leadership style and see if humility factors into how you lead or may lead in the future.

Reflect upon and answer the following questions related to your role as a leader or when you have demonstrated leadership:

• How might I acknowledge the importance of others?
• How might I invite constructive dissent?
• Who holds alternative perspectives?
• How can I open channels that enable others to offer challenging feedback?
• What might I say or do that expresses confidence in others?
• How might I connect with people with less status?
• What is my greatest contribution? How might I bring it?
• Who can I brag about?
• How might I help others get what they want, while they serve our vision and mission?
• How might I stretch myself? Playing it safe is self-protection