Humility – ElPropósito3 min de lectura

Leadership at its best

I like to think, and believe, because I practice it every day, that exercise is one of the best habits we can have. In fact, I believe a good leader understands that exercise is essential to their daily professional growth. I’ve also said more than once that reading is this century’s forgotten leadership habit. Much is said about leadership, yet little is written about what sets a good leader apart. Today’s post is about one quality of a good leader: humility. The Royal Spanish Academy tells us a humble person "does not make a show of their virtues," so we could conclude that a humble person has virtues. That’s what intrigues me most: which virtues mark a good professional, a good citizen, a good Christian and, why not say it, a good person?

Stoicism holds that virtue is really four virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. Saint Josemaría Escrivá, for his part, sums up the virtues of a good Christian as fortitude, serenity, patience and magnanimity. I don’t intend to go through each one. I want to gather my thoughts around that great human quality of being humble. When I wake up in the morning (in the dark, since I’m an early riser), after thanking God, I can make out the outline of my bookcase, right in front of our bed. At one point it struck me: if I own a fair number of books, how many more are left for me to read in this life? That alone showed me how humble I must be before the vast knowledge that lies beyond the few hundred books I might read in a lifetime. The whole universe of books should give us a panoramic view of how humble we need to be about what we can and can’t come to know.

I’m convinced that humility is the first name and joy is the last name. Anyone who walks through life with humility must carry deep in their heart an enormous joy at being able to understand things many others may not know. It reminds me of how often I’ve sat across from great leaders whose greatest tool of negotiation and power is their silence. There’s humility in silence, in resisting that frivolous urge to always have the perfect word or the final idea that ends the conversation. We all know a good leader is a good conversationalist. What I’ve found, though, is that a good leader is above all a good listener. Why? Because someone who listens can switch off their ego, and switching off the ego means keeping your feet firmly on the ground, anchored by another powerful tool: our purpose. Someone who knows where they’re going shines in the dark, and their actions speak louder than their words.

Humility isn’t the same as feeling inferior. Humility is magnanimity, and reaching it means understanding the greatness of spirit with which we can lead our lives, personally and professionally. We can find the greatness of humility in every part of life. One thing that strikes me most, and that I confirm more strongly every time, is the capacity to listen that we can develop toward others. Perhaps the greatest gift we can give someone is to listen to them, attentively and with all the patience it takes to grasp the real message. Humility holds one of the keys to good leadership: the attitude with which we navigate, knowing we don’t know everything and that we’re willing to put the little we do know at the service of others.

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. I dedicate this post to my friends, especially those I carry in my heart, with whom the bond has stayed intact over the years. A hug with all my affection

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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