While it was once thought arrogance, inflated egos and iron-fisted leadership were the secrets to CEO success, new research is casting light on the importance of humility at the very highest levels of an organization. This often misunderstood quality can and does define some rather successful corporate leaders, according to a study recently released by Arizona State University.
Researchers from the university’s W.P. Carey School of Business were curious how humility at the CEO level might impact top- and mid-level managers and entire workforces as a result. With a desire to learn more about this trait’s impact on CEOs and those around them, Arizona State’s Anne S. Tsui, Angelo Kinicki and David Waldman worked with National University of Singapore professor Amy Y. Ou to conduct the study.
Research focused on this personality trait and its impact on the CEOs of 63 privately held businesses in China. They also conducted surveys of 1,000 middle and top-level managers who work closely with those CEOs to see how humility from above impacted their daily routine.
Researchers selected Chinese companies for the study because they say it provided the right context for ensuring CEOs would display a variety of humility levels. The focus on humility was prompted by an increased interest in this trait among researchers in the area of business and psychology.
Although once mistaken for low self-esteem and a lack of confidence, Arizona’s study team says this personality trait has a number of positive components in it that can help those in leadership roles thrive.
Humility itself is often associated with empowering, virtuous, moral, ethical and participative leadership. Results of the study indicate that may be the case.
Researchers concluded that CEOs who are humble tend to make strong leaders because they empower others around them and foster a greater sense of ownership among mid- and top-level managers.
This sense of empowerment trickles from the top down, creating organizations that are poised for success because employees are committed, they’re not afraid to share ideas and they enjoy greater job satisfaction as a result.
Humble CEOs also tend to be more open to making joint decisions. They are often mindful of their own strengths and weaknesses and those of others around them.
“Our study suggests the ‘secret sauce’ of great, humble managers,” Kinicki told Arizona State News. “They are more willing to seek feedback about themselves, more empathetic and appreciative of others’ strengths and weaknesses, and more focused on the greater good and others’ welfare than on themselves.”
Humility in leaders isn’t a sign of weakness, study authors conclude. Rather, this trait has benefits that can trickle from the top down, creating positive impacts for employees and a company as a whole.
