My Thoughts
Humility Isn't Weakness. It's the Secret Sauce of Unstoppable Leaders.
Related Articles:
Most people have got this completely backwards.
They think confidence means chest-thumping, corner-office swagger, and never admitting you're wrong. I've been training executives and running workshops for over fifteen years now, and I can tell you with absolute certainty: that's not confidence. That's insecurity wearing an expensive suit.
Real confidence? It's having the guts to say "I don't know" in a boardroom full of suits. It's listening more than you speak. It's admitting when your brilliant strategy from last quarter was actually a steaming pile of rubbish.
The Loudest Person in the Room Isn't Always Right
Back in 2019, I was working with a mining company in Perth – won't name names, but you'd recognise the logo. Their head of operations was one of those blokes who could bulldoze through any meeting. Impressive CV, intimidating presence, and absolutely convinced his way was the only way.
Problem was, his department had the worst retention rate in the company. 73% annual turnover. People were leaving faster than rats from a sinking ship.
During one particularly heated session, I watched him shoot down every suggestion from his team. Didn't matter if it came from a 20-year veteran or a fresh graduate – if it wasn't his idea, it was wrong. That's when I realised something. This wasn't confidence. This was fear dressed up as authority.
The most confident leaders I know? They're the ones asking questions instead of having all the answers.
Why We're Scared of Looking Stupid
Here's the thing about Australian business culture – we love our larrikins, but we're terrified of looking like idiots. Somewhere along the line, we decided that admitting ignorance equals weakness. Complete bollocks, if you ask me.
I made this mistake early in my career. Fresh out of university, working for a consultancy firm in Sydney, trying to impress everyone with how much I knew. Spent half my time pretending to understand things I had no clue about. Nearly cost us a major client because I was too proud to ask for clarification on a technical specification.
Best lesson I ever learned: Smart people ask dumb questions. Dumb people pretend they already know everything.
The companies thriving in today's market aren't led by know-it-alls. They're led by people curious enough to admit what they don't know and humble enough to learn from anyone – including that junior developer who just pointed out a massive flaw in your digital strategy.
The Arrogance Epidemic
We're living through an epidemic of executive arrogance. Social media hasn't helped – everyone's becoming their own personal brand, posting thought leadership pieces about "crushing it" and "disrupting industries." Makes me want to throw my phone in the Brisbane River.
Look at companies like Canva or Atlassian. Their founders aren't running around beating their chests about how brilliant they are. They're constantly learning, adapting, evolving. They hire people smarter than themselves and actually listen to them.
Contrast that with the parade of fallen corporate heroes we've seen over the years. The common thread? Ego. The belief that success makes you infallible.
What Real Humility Looks Like (Hint: It's Not Self-Deprecation)
Let me clear something up right now. Humility isn't about constantly putting yourself down or playing small. That's just as annoying as arrogance, frankly.
Real humility is confidence without the ego trip. It's being secure enough in your abilities that you don't need to prove anything to anyone. You can celebrate your wins without making it about how brilliant you are. You can acknowledge your failures without making it a dramatic performance.
I've worked with CEOs who've transformed their companies by simply changing how they showed up in meetings. Instead of dominating conversations, they started facilitating them. Instead of having all the answers, they started asking better questions.
One CEO I coached – let's call him Marcus – completely turned around his struggling retail chain by doing something radical: he started working shifts in his own stores. Not for publicity. Not for some TV show. Because he genuinely wanted to understand what his customers and staff were experiencing.
Within six months, employee satisfaction scores jumped 40%. Customer complaints dropped by half. Sometimes the best strategy is getting your head out of the clouds and your hands dirty.
The Paradox of Powerful Humility
Here's what's fascinating about humble leaders: they actually end up more influential, not less. People trust them more. Teams perform better under them. They build stronger relationships.
Why? Because humility is magnetic. When someone powerful doesn't need to remind you how powerful they are, you respect them more. When a leader admits they screwed up, their team trusts them more, not less.
This isn't just feel-good psychology. Harvard Business Review published research showing that humble leaders create more engaged teams. McKinsey found that companies with humble leadership outperform their peers by 20% in employee retention.
But here's the kicker – it takes real strength to be humble. Any insecure manager can bark orders and demand respect. It takes backbone to admit mistakes, ask for help, and put your ego aside for the greater good.
Why Australians Should Excel at This (But Often Don't)
You'd think we'd be naturals at this. We've got tall poppy syndrome built into our DNA. We're supposed to be egalitarian, down-to-earth, skeptical of authority.
Yet I see Australian executives making the same mistakes as their counterparts everywhere else. Maybe it's because we're trying so hard to prove ourselves on the global stage that we've forgotten what made us effective in the first place.
The best Australian leaders I know embrace that larrikin spirit without losing their authority. They can have a beer with their team on Friday and make tough decisions on Monday. They don't need corner offices to command respect.
Three Things You Can Do Tomorrow
Enough theory. Here's what you can actually implement:
Stop being the smartest person in every conversation. Next meeting you're in, count how much you talk versus how much you listen. If you're doing more than 30% of the talking, you're probably doing it wrong.
Admit when you don't know something. Pick one topic you're supposed to be an expert on but honestly don't fully understand. Find someone who does understand it and ask them to explain it to you. Watch how much respect you gain, not lose.
Apologise properly when you mess up. Not a politician's non-apology. A real one. Take responsibility, explain what you learned, outline what you'll do differently. Do it publicly if the mistake was public.
The Bottom Line
Confidence without humility is just arrogance waiting to crash and burn. Humility without confidence is just insecurity in disguise.
The leaders who last, who build things that matter, who create cultures people actually want to be part of – they've figured out how to be both. They're confident enough to lead and humble enough to learn.
In a world full of people shouting about how amazing they are, the quiet confidence of true humility stands out like a beacon.
Maybe it's time we all got a bit more comfortable with not having all the answers. Maybe that's actually the answer.
For more insights on developing authentic leadership skills, explore our comprehensive training programs designed for Australian professionals.