Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much;
Wisdom is humble that he knows no more
WILLIAM COWPER
TO BE HUMBLE means to be markedly lacking in all signs of pride, arrogance, self-assertiveness or vanity. Whereas modesty is a trait of personality – soon revealed in the way a person talks about himself or his achievements – humility is a quality of character. It is only by getting to know a person well can you sense the presence of humility in them.
It actually is not easy to do so, because humbleness is not evidenced by such outward signs as unsolicited self-deprecation – the act of disparaging or belittling oneself. There are celebrities who, in Shakespeare’s words, ‘sound all the base notes of humility’ but privately are as proud as Satan.
C. S. Lewis, as lucid as ever, in Mere Christianity (1952) points to the hiddenness of this quality:
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who takes a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
Dag Hammarskjöld is perhaps the leader in modern times who has reflected most deeply on the meaning of humility. In Hammarskjöld’s private journal, humility is a central theme. Later published posthumously in Swedish with the title of Väg Märken (‘Way Marks’) – such as the stone cairns that guide the fell walker on snowbound or mist-shrouded paths – and in English as Markings, the journal contains, for example, this observation on humility.
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Humility is just as much the opposite of self-abasement as it is of self-exaltation. To be humble is not to make comparisons. Secure in its reality, the self is neither better nor worse, bigger nor smaller, than anything else in the universe. It is – is nothing, yet at the same time one with everything. It is in this sense that humility is absolute self-effacement.
The great Japanese potter Hamada referred to humility as ‘losing one’s tail’ – the tail being an excessive egoism. Incidentally, there is a fine distinction in the English language between egoism and egotism. Egoism emphasizes a concentration on oneself, one’s interests and one’s needs; it commonly implies self-interest, especially as opposed to altruism or interest in others, as the inner spring of one’s acts or as the measure by which all things we judge.
Egotism stresses the tendency to attract attention to and centre interest on oneself, one’s thoughts or one’s achievements. It is a trait difficult to disguise as it is manifest in the practice of continually talking about oneself, usually with an excessive use of ‘I’ and ‘me’.
A short course on leadership
The six most important words: ‘I admit I made a mistake.’
The five most important words: ‘I am proud of you.’
The four most important words: ‘What is your opinion?’
The three most important words: ‘If you please.’
The two most important words: ‘Thank you.’
The one most important word: ‘We.’
And the least important word: ‘I.’
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower emphasized the value of humility in leadership: for, he said, ‘a sense of humility is a quality I have observed in every leader whom I have deeply admired.’
My own conviction is that every leader should have enough humility to accept, publicly, the responsibility for the mistakes of the subordinates he has himself selected and, likewise, to give them credit, publicly, for their triumphs. I am aware that some popular theories of leadership hold that the top man must always keep his ‘image’ bright and shining. I believe, however, that in the long run fairness and honesty, and a generous attitude towards subordinates and associates, pay off.
The leadership that Eisenhower displayed as the supreme commander in Europe in the closing years of the Second World War reflected these values. In the words of Cambridge University’s Public Orator when an honorary degree was conferred upon Eisenhower: ‘He showed himself such an example of kindly wisdom, such a combination of serious purpose, humanity, and courtesy, that the others soon had no thought in their minds save to labour with one common will for the success of all.’
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‘Any leader worth his salt’, Eisenhower adds, ‘must of course possess a certain amount of ego, a justifiable pride in his own accomplishments. But if he is a truly great leader, the cause must predominate over self.’ An old and respected commander of mine used to say, ‘Always take your job seriously, never yourself.’
We find that very same principle – job first, self second – expressed by one of the great political orators of the nineteenth century, William Ewart Gladstone (1809–98), prime minister of England:
We are to respect our responsibilities, not ourselves.
We are to respect the duties of which we are capable, not our capabilities simply considered.
There is to be no complacent self-contemplation, ruminating on self.
When the self is viewed, it must always be in the most intimate connexion with its purpose.
Gladstone sounds the same note as Eisenhower: the priority of one’s role as leader in a great office as being the overriding context for any considerations of self or about self.
That advice given to Eisenhower by his old and respected friend underlines the importance of a leader, especially at the most senior levels: retaining their sense of humour, for humour keeps things in proportion; i t is the antidote to any form of self-importance.
Lady Violet Bonham Carter, a friend who overcame her negative critical reaction to Churchill’s personality and grew to admire and like Churchill, once said to him: ‘Winston, you must remember that you are just a worm, like the rest of us.’ Churchill thought for a moment and then replied with a characteristic chuckle: ‘Yes, I am a worm – but I do believe that I am a glow-worm!’
If you feel that humility is beyond your reach, make sure that you hang on to a sense of humour!
Sense shines with double lustre when it is set in humility. An able yet humble man is a jewel worth a kingdom.
WILLIAM PENN