Want to give yourself a chance at becoming a decent leader in business and fatherhood? Pursue a balance of confidence and humility.
Confident humility is tough to define, but it looks and smells like maturity. It's an attitude and presence you can see in those who know their strengths and weaknesses. They've succeeded enough to believe in themselves, and failed enough to know how fallible they are.
Pursuing confidence is straight-forward and has been written about a million times. The pursuit of humility is more rewarding, challenging and endless. The moment you believe you've succeeded at humility is the moment you've failed.
How does confident humility play out in business?
- Make difficult and unpopular decisions
- Be willing to fail, adjust, and resume
- Give credit to others for success
- Embrace critics and detractors and seriously consider their ideas (you may be wrong)
- Be transparent about your weaknesses and seek out others who are strong where you're weak
- Give others confidence
How does confident humility play out in fatherhood?
- Make tough decisions and take the blame when they don't pan out
- Ask your wife or kids for forgiveness when you wrong them (if you're honest with yourself, you'll have an oppotunity to practice this every day)
- Ask your kids how they think you could be a better dad. One time my 4 y/o responded, "I'd like to smell less of your toots (farts)."
- Instil confidence and humility in your kids through your example
Two quotes in closing:
"Some singers look to their audience for confidence, but the audience has NONE! It is you who must give them confidence!" - The late Maestro David Kyle (my vocal instructor)
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." - Paul's letter to Ephesus, Eph. 4:2
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