When I was growing up, I used to mix a lot of metaphors - perhaps I still do. For example, there was a time at the family dinner table when I blurted out, somewhat in exasperation, "That's the straw that broke the monkey's back!" My parents and sister started giggling, which only exasperated me more. I probably said, "Why are all of you laughing?"
All they had to say in reply was "Mixing metaphors again," and I started laughing too. It was a long-standing family joke - I had done it enough times that all they had to say was "Mixing metaphors again" and we would all laugh together (I know - "We're not laughing at you, Derek, we are laughing with you!" Right?).
All I can say is that it must be hereditary, because my sister does it too! So, just to clarify and get it all straight, there were two metaphors that I used at the dinner table that time long ago. I wasn't too far off - the first metaphor is an old proverb that probably originated some time around the mid 17th century (at least, according to my source on the Internet). "The last straw" or "the straw that broke the camel's back" (camel - NOT monkey) basically refers to "the final additional small burden that makes the entirety of one's difficulties unbearable." It's the latest in a series of unpleasant or undesirable events that, collectively, makes an individual think or believe that he or she cannot tolerate a particular situation any longer.
The second metaphor ("Get the monkey off my back") basically occurs when an individual solves a problem that has been difficult to get rid of or address for a long time (often times the problem is a drug or alcohol addiction or similar situation). The origin of this particular metaphor is not really known either, but it appears to have first come into use during the 1930's.
Okay, now you know the family secret. What's my point? The point I would like to make has nothing to do with camels and monkeys, but it has everything to do with humility. And I am not really focusing on the classic, Merriam-Webster's definition of humility here, where to be humble means to have a modest or low view of one's own importance. I certainly learned this kind of humility at an early age! Humility, at least in this context, means that you can laugh at yourself every once in a while and not take yourself so seriously. It’s a good definition, and a good lesson too. However, I am really referring to the definition of humility that I found in the Urban Dictionary, where to be humble means to serve others and be for their good as well as your own (maybe even more so for their good), to recognize your strengths as well as your weaknesses, and finally to recognize that there are far greater things in this world than yourself. To be humble means that you have accepted that together, we can accomplish so much more than we could ever hope to accomplish by ourselves.
Humility is one of the foundational elements of leadership. In fact, a recent multinational study on leadership traits by the Catalyst Research Center (see Jeanine Prime and Elizaneth R. Salib, Inclusive Leadership: The View from Six Countries, (Catalyst, 2014) on the Catalyst website) found that humility was one of the four key leadership attributes that link to inclusion and diversity (the other three attributes were empowerment, courage, and accountability). A recent Harvard Business Review blog post was titled, "The Best Leaders are Humble Leaders". I couldn't agree more. As Dr. Robert Hogan, founder and President of Hogan Assessments, recently said, "Substantial research shows that humility predicts effective leadership. Humility is associated with minimizing status differences, listening to subordinates, soliciting input, admitting mistakes and being willing to change course when a plan seems not to work."
Jim Collins, author of one of the best-selling leadership books of all time, Good to Great, has consistently found in his research that humility is the "X factor" of great leadership. Collins studied over 1,500 Fortune 500 companies over a 30-year period to find out which companies consistently performed above the market average. In other words, he was looking for companies that not only achieved greatness, but consistently stayed great over the long haul. One of the most consistent themes that his research team found, over and over again, among the leaders of these "good to great" companies was humility.
Finally, Dr. Amy Ou and her team published a study in the Journal of Management of over 100 small-to-medium-sized Information Technology (IT) firms and found a strong and statistically significant correlation between CEO humility and firm performance. The executive management teams of those organizations with humble CEO's were more likely to collaborate, share information, and work closely together, all of which translated to better overall performance. CEO humility was measured using a previously validated scale (did you know there was such a "humility scale"?), while firm performance was determined by its profitability.
As it turns out, humility, like leadership, can be a learned behavior or skill! Here are some sure-fire tips to become more humble from an article in Forbes magazine entitled "The Value of Humility in Leadership":
1. Be curious; never stop being a learner.
2. Seek feedback regularly; treat it as a gift and act on it.
3. Be authentic; own up to mistakes and apologize when your behavior or decision-making falls below standard.
4. Give up the need to have all the right answers' focus on asking the right questions.
5. Be a servant leader; model the kind of followership you want from others by following the lead of others at times.
These are all great recommendations, but I would also add that to be humble means, at times, that you can laugh at yourself. I would also add the following recommendation, taken from a quote by the ancient Roman Stoic philosopher, Epictetus:
If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone."
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