The Quality of Humility
How Being Humble Bolsters Organizational Leadership
Published in Smart Business Magazine, June 2022
I recently attended a celebratory event honoring one of my long time colleagues - an entrepreneur turned educator - recognizing his visionary contributions to fostering the entrepreneurial mindset in thousands of young people. While he was lauded by speakers for his many attributes, a predominant theme emerged that focused on his exceptional personal humility.
One of his students, now a successful entrepreneur, commented that the teacher's humility fostered curiosity and inquisitiveness in the students he mentored. As an educator, he did not pretend to have all the answers. Instead, her served as a role model, encouraging experimentation, exploration, problem solving and shared learning in an open and inspirational environment. The student learned that answers are often yet to be discovered and therfore cannot be taught. Each entrepreneurial trailblazer must draw upon his or her own imagination to find the answers. This former student emphasized that humility is indeed an essential ingredient of effective mentoring for entrepreneurs.