Dr. Afarah Board posted a question in the comments section of my blog entitled Expanding Your Lid. (If you have not read or listened to that blog, please do.) First of all, Dr. Board is very well-versed in the topics and the practice of leadership, so I think that her question was written to stretch me and have me look a little deeper into the topic I was discussing. The question she asked was, "How does a leader know or realize they have a low lid?" Great question, Dr. Board! I will begin to answer this question with a statement made by Jason Brooks on the Maxwell Leadership Podcast entitled Focused Thinking (Part 2). Mr. Brooks said, "What makes a person teachable is that they're humble, they're hungry, and they hustle". So, here's my answer, thanks to Mr. Brooks, a leader must be teachable and humble so that they will know or have an idea of the level of their lid. So here's why.
No one, not even the best of the best of leaders, is at a level where they do not need to improve and grow in an area of their leadership. It is when the leader becomes unteachable, lacking the humility to learn and grow from others, that they will miss knowing the level of their lid and their leadership influence can become little to non-existent because of their unwillingness to be teachable. So, how does one display teachability and humility among those they lead? They must seek feedback.
If you desire to improve and continue to improve your leadership to be the best leader for your people, then you have to be humble enough to be vulnerable by seeking feedback. As frightening as this might sound, a leader can learn what they need to work on by asking questions and providing opportunities to receive feedback. I know from firsthand experience how uncomfortable it feels to send out an anonymous feedback form to staff and not know what the results will be and what will be placed in the open-ended comments section. But teachable leaders who are proactive, humble, and willing to be vulnerable will learn whether their lid is low or high. Instead of waiting for a review or evaluation from their evaluator to rate their leadership and performance, they seek the feedback beforehand and start making the necessary steps to improve and expand their lid.
In Radical Candor (2019), Kim Scott says two things that speak to being a teachable leader who displays humility. The first thing she says is, "Too many managers fear that public challenge will undermine their authority. It's natural to want to repress dissent, but a good reaction to public criticism can be the very thing that establishes your credibility as a strong leader, and will help you build a culture of guidance." The second statement made by Ms. Scott is, "Manage your feelings rather than letting them manage you. Remind yourself going in that no matter how unfair the criticism, your first job is to listen with the intent to understand, not to defend yourself." I love these statements by Ms. Scott. They communicate that humility when receiving criticism, or what I call feedback, can establish credibility and strength in leadership.
Application:
Here are three ways to obtain feedback as a humble leader.
- Feedback Surveys: These surveys can provide you with data on specific areas that you want to know about your leadership and how it is perceived by those you are leading. Providing the opportunity for individuals to make open-ended comments about your leadership can provide context to the data provided and inform you on actionable steps you can take to improve.
- After-Action Reviews: These reviews provide team members with the opportunity to communicate their thoughts and perspectives about a recent event/project. They can share what happened, what they think went well, and what they think should be improved. This feedback can help leaders and provide actionable steps on how to lead their team(s) more effectively for future events/projects.
- Asking Questions: As you gain trust, as a humble leader, and display that you value feedback from your people, whether the feedback is positive or negative, people will be willing to answer your questions about your leadership and how you can serve them better. Don't be too prideful to ask questions about your leadership, and as Ms. Scott said, don't try to "defend yourself" when you receive an answer.
Conclusion:
No one has reached a point in their leadership where they are above receiving feedback. We all have room to grow and should be willing to learn and take the necessary steps towards growth. Humility allows us to be the teachable leaders we ought to be and enables us to understand that teachable moments can be provided through the feedback of anyone, including the children in our lives. So, let's be humble and teachable by paying attention to the feedback we receive, which is intended to make us grow.
I want to hear from you. Please post your comments and suggestions in the comments section on this page. Thank you for reading or listening to this blog post. Stay tuned for the next blog, scheduled to be posted on Monday, September 1, 2025.
4 comments:
Thanks for the blog Vince on the very relevant topic of the “teachable and humble leader”. And thanks for digging into and unpacking my question of how does the leader know that they have a low lid. Good job and very insightful. I have also learned that a wise leader one who knows they don’t know everything and that they need to continue to grow. You absolutely hit on that in your blog. I really appreciate the applications and the three points. Surveys are critical, the 360 degree survey is often used at the senior leadership level that obtains feedback from employees, customers, supervisor, peers, etc. It seems to be very effective. Again great job, great points, and thanks for allowing me to participate.
Vincent, I always appreciate your blogs, and this one did not disappoint. Your thoughts on leaders and knowing their "lid" level is very important. As a young leader. I was so focused on just surviving that I never stopped to appreciate how to measure the temperature of my staff and myself. The importance of calibration and feeling the pulse of the site and myself was so necessary to my growth as a leader. Ty
What a great blog! I loved how you express the importance of always learning. One who stops listening, evaluating and self reflecting, can never reach therefore potential. IMO
Listening to your blog, reminds me how important it is to keep an open mind. By keeping yourself grounding and always working on self improvement. Gives you the best chance to become the best version of yourself. Good leadership comes from many different avenues of life. It’s like a mighty river, before that river can become mighty, there are smaller creeks of water that must flow in to it. And then and only then can it have a chance of being mighty. Your blog reminds me how important it is to allow opinions, reflections, and evaluation to become part of the process of becoming mighty. Great blog Vincent
Great blog Vincent. I appreciate your passion and sharing knowledge. I am a true believer that Humble is the way!
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