Since 1924 till now, 282 people have died trying to reach the top of Mount Everest. Over 4100 have actually reached the summit.
In my opinion, mountaineering experiences are like metaphors for leaders. We must surround ourselves with wise people, who can help guide us, lest arrogance enters in.
Charisma and confidence may be qualifying virtues but they have to be fueled by HUMILITY.
Humility drives high performance. It improves our judgment by taming our EGO. Although we can be good and effective leaders with big egos, making the leap from GOOD to GREAT requires something extra. We must learn to balance ego with HUMILITY.
As a student on the climb to leadership greatness, whenever I forget to balance my ego with humility, I end up learning the hard way.
We never outgrow leadership or our leaders, we simply climb together as a team, with humility, and draw strength from one another.
Self-promotion erodes our HUMILITY. As someone who has an online presence, I realize that it comes with a responsibility. Often, I must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as He reminds me to promote The Lord and others more than myself.
PRIDE is a struggle for many leaders, but we must strive to bring humility to our leadership roles.
What does a HUMBLE leader look like?
1. TRUST - A humble leader will take a risk on others, trusting them with their God given vision, even at the risk of being disappointed.
2. INVESTMENT - A humble leader will continually look for ways to invest in others, raising up and maturing new leaders.
3. STRONG/GENTLE - A humble leader isn't weak, but they keep Jesus in the core of their heart so that their strength reveals gentleness.
4. ADMITS MISTAKES - A humble leader will own up to their part of a situation.
5. FORGIVES - A humble leader will overlook the disappointments from others. They keep a short list and forgive easily and quickly.
6. PROMOTES OTHERS - A humble leader will receive recognition with grace and then quickly divert the attention to others, sharing the limelight with those who many times may have had more to do with the success than they did.
7. ACKNOWLEDGES LIMITATIONS - A humble leader realizes that they cannot do everything. They learn quickly to say "no" or "I can't do that" or "I'm not the one who should, but I know who to ask."
Humility isn't having a LOW OPINION of yourself...it's simply not thinking OF yourself.
IF WE ARE TO REACH THE SUMMIT TOGETHER,
WE MUST REMAIN HUMBLE!
WE MUST REMAIN HUMBLE!
