As a coach and consultant, I work with leaders, including chief level executives. It’s more common than not when they share their burden of feeling they need to be the ones with all of the answers. These leaders often to appear to lack humility. When letting go of this mindset, or need to appear to “know all”, opportunities open up driving better results not only for the leader, but for those around the leader, the team, and the organization as a whole.

What Causes Leaders to Feel They Need to Know All?

When I was a new manager at the age of 23, one of the biggest stressors was the belief that I had to know everything and worse, the need to “prove myself”. The unfortunate truth for those of us who have been in that position is that we lost out on the opportunity to learn from others, and, as a result, likely didn’t provide the most optimal results for the companies in which we worked. In that role, I was fortunate enough to learn rather quickly that I had “experts” or people with more experience in their specific roles than I did, and as such, was able to shift my mindset and take advantage of their expertise. Yet, I still felt the need to “feel important” – I didn’t yet understand the power of humility. I was young and wanted to be noticed and “valued”, and likely appeared a bit arrogant to some of my colleagues.

Slowly, as I felt more secure in my career, I learned to become a bit more humble. And certainly now, as a coach, I believe my clients know what’s best for them. When prospective clients ask me to describe myself, I can honestly say that I’m authentic, compassionate, and empathetic while not being afraid to deliver solid and helpful feedback that helps my clients become more self-aware, uncover blind spots, and start to show up as a better version of themselves. And, because I believe my clients know best, when they ask for advice, I typically put the ball back in their court. This can also turn into a brainstorming session, where we both share ideas, but mine don’t have to outweigh theirs and ideally don’t.

Opportunities Arise When One Leads with Humility

When my clients start to let go of the belief that they have to be the expert, it becomes much easier for them to empower others, which drives improved results for the organization. It helps the empowered employee to feel valued, to grow and develop, and to remain engaged in the work and the organization. It is one element that creates a safe space for individuals to speak up and add their input. When more voices around the table are being heard, better ideas are generated, new innovative ideas are shared, and people step up to show up as their best selves.

There is a new expression that seems to be showing up in the media these days, termed “quiet quitting” otherwise known as employees showing up and doing their necessary work, but putting hard boundaries in place and not doing more than the minimum work required. This seems to be more prevalent among Gen Z employees and is often connected to employees looking to avoid burnout. What has me curious is what type of culture are they working in? And are their leaders practicing active listening, encouraging input, and hearing what’s important to these employees?

What Improvements Are Available for You and Your Organization?

What are you experiencing in your workplace? How would you describe yourself? Do you feel like you have to have all the answers, or are you able to trust that others around you might have better answers and ideas? Any challenges with quiet quitting in your workplace? I work with leaders, teams and organizations helping to create healthy cultures, including empowerment, psychological safety, active listening, and much more! Curious? Let’s connect.  

“The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The leader of the future will be a person who knows how to ask.” – Peter Druker