to trust, but it often works.
King Solomon was put to the ‘‘humility test’’ when God came to
him in a dream and said, ‘‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’’
Solomon could have been like King Midas and asked that all he touched
be turned to gold. But instead, he humbly asked for wisdom: ‘‘I am
only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. So give
your servant a discerning heart . . . For who is able to govern this great
people of yours?’’
God’s answer to this humble request was to grant Solomon every-
thing else he might have wished for: not just a wise and discerning
heart, but also riches, honor, and long life. (1 Kings 3:7–14)
Humility has paid off for modern leaders as well as biblical kings.
Robert Townsend, when he became CEO of Avis in the 1970s, turned
the corporate world on its head when he eliminated executive dining
rooms, parking spaces, and other emblems of corporate royalty. Taking
humility a step further, Townsend showed seemingly great vulnerability
when he admitted his mistakes far more forthrightly than was customary
for CEOs at the time.
‘‘Admit your mistakes openly, maybe even joyfully,’’ he wrote in the
aptly titled Up the Organization. ‘‘Encourage your associates to do likewise by commiserating with them.’’ Townsend admitted that his ‘‘bat-
ting average’’ was probably no better than .333. ‘‘But my mistakes were
discussed openly and most of them corrected with a little help from my
friends.’’16 He and King Solomon would have done well together in an
executive support group.
Another suitable addition to this ‘‘humility support group’’ would be
Steve Chaddick, SVP of systems and technology for Ciena Corpora-
tion. His company’s acquisition of Omnia Communications promised
to help it offer increased bandwidth to businesses and homes. It was a
bold move, but in the end, the architecture turned out to be flawed and
had to be shelved. The stock price dropped from $51 to $8 in a few
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months. But at least Ciena could admit it had made a mistake, allowing
it to change direction rather than maintain the same disastrous course.
Notes Chaddick, ‘‘Most business cultures are incapable of accepting
error. We teach from the top down that sometimes we will be
wrong.’’17
Jack Stack of Springfield Re also found that humility paid. Many
leaders, when confronted with a unionization battle, immediately as-
sume that the arrogant, aggressive route is the strategy of choice. Stack
chose another method, one that perhaps came more naturally to him
since he had started out as a humble mailroom clerk. ‘‘We got down on
our hands and knees and begged them to trust us. We groveled.’’ Per-
haps it was his sincerity, perhaps his humility, but Stack’s efforts resulted in a three to one vote against the union.
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer could (and sometimes does) throw its
multibillion-dollar weight around with its suppliers, competitors, and
employees. But CEO William Steere wants it to stop short of down-
right arrogance. ‘‘I detest arrogance,’’ declares Steere. ‘‘When I find it
in a product manager or in a research scientist, I speak out against it . . .
Arrogance is the beginning of the end in remaining agile. Arrogant
companies—and leaders—fail to see or react to threats. They also miss
opportunities to partner with others, because they want to do it all
themselves.’’18
Just think if Pharaoh had been more agile and suggested an alliance of
equals with the Hebrews, or if Haman had teamed with Mordechai to
create an interreligious kingdom in ancient Persia. Too often, lack of
humility blinds leaders to the tremendous power of alliances and to the
destructive effects of arrogant ambition.
If only these failed leaders of biblical times (and those of modern
times) had paid more attention to warnings like these:
‘‘The Lord has a day in store for the proud and mighty, for they will
be humbled.’’ (Isa. 2:12)
‘‘Because you think you are wise as a god, you will be brought down.’’
(Ezekiel to the King of Tyre, Ezek. 28:3)
‘‘To those who say, ‘I am too sacred for you’—Such people are a stench
in my nostrils.’’ (Isa. 65:5)
Humility
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THE LEADER AS SERVANT
In the past few years, much has been written about the ‘‘servant leader’’
who inspires others and achieves great goals not by ‘‘lording it over
others’’ but rather by serving them. But the ‘‘servant leader’’ is not a
new phenomenon; its origins date back to Bible.
While Jesus is the best-known servant leader, the concept predates
him by almost 1,000 years. In 1 Kings 12, King Rehoboam, who has
just ascended to the throne of Israel, is faced with a dilemma—how to
motivate the people of Israel to follow him so that he can continue the
great legacy of achievement accomplished by his father, Solomon. His
followers petition him: ‘‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now
lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will
serve you.’’
Like any wise executive, Rehoboam enlists the aid of a consulting
team: He asks the elders who had served his father how he should an-
swer the petition. Their advice: ‘‘If today you will be a servant to these
people and serve them . . . they will always be your servants.’’
In his arrogance, Rehoboam decides to ignore this advice. Instead,
he replies, ‘‘My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heav-
ier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpi-
ons.’’ Rehoboam’s stubborn pride and cruelty made him the ultimate
‘‘Theory X’’ manager, even for biblical times. His ‘‘results’’? The people
of Israel stoned to death the manager whom Rehoboam had appointed
to supervise their forced labor, and Rehoboam himself had to flee from
Jerusalem in his chariot to escape death. The people repudiated him and
made his rival, Jereboam, the king over all Israel.
Perhaps it takes someone not born into royalty to fully embrace ser-
vant leadership. Such a man was Jesus, who was born in a manger and
whose only crown was the crown of thorns. Such a man could not only
preach servant leadership, he could practice it, and his practice inspired
his followers to do likewise.
For example, the mother of two of Jesus’ disciples came to him and
asked that they be given a ‘‘privileged place’’ at his table: ‘‘Grant that
one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at
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your left.’’ Needless to say, this caused some consternation and jealousy
among the other disciples. Jesus quickly set the priorities straight: What
was most important was not the trappings of power (the place at the
table) but rather the service of others: ‘‘You know that the rulers of the
gentiles lord it over them . . . Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants
to become great among you must be your servant . . . just as the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve.’’ (Matt. 20:20–28)
Jesus ‘‘made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant’’
(Phil. 2:7), and in so doing probably affected the lives of more people
than anyone else who ever lived. The most dramatic example of Jesus’
humility was his washing of his disciples’ feet. It is difficult to imagine a modern leader acting so humbly; it was Jesus’ great gift that he never
lost his power to inspire, even in the most humble act.
‘‘He poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet,
drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him . . . He came
to Simon Peter . . . ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’
Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’ ‘Then
Lord,’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head
as well!’ ’’ ( John 13:3–9)
Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines was a true believer in servant
leadership. ‘‘I’d describe leadership as servanthood . . . The best leaders
. . . have to be good followers as well. You have to be willing to subject
your own ego to the needs of your business.’’ As we’ve noted, this was
not just empty rhetoric. Kelleher literally ‘‘served the servers,’’ helping the baggage handlers lift the bags and the flight attendants serve the
peanuts.19
What made this all ‘‘work’’ was the sincerity of his humility. If hu-
mility isn’t a strong trait for you, or it just isn’t your style, don’t try to put on a ‘‘Herb Kelleher costume.’’ There’s got to be some true humility in you to work with and develop; most employees easily see through
false humility. If, after washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus had gone out for a lavish dinner with the local dignitaries at which he claimed all the