I recently came across a term that I've never heard before (actually, that's not too uncommon for me) that I have been trying to wrap my brain around. The term is Juste milieu, which literally translates (from French to English) to the "middle way" or "happy medium." Historically, the term has referred to a centrist political philosophy that attempts to find a balance between two opposing and often extreme viewpoints, and it was first used in the 1830's shortly after the overthrow of Charles X, the last king of the House of Bourbon. The new "King of the French" Louis Phillipe I (who ruled during the so-called July Monarchy) promised to follow the juste milieu in order to avoid the extremes of the conservative supporters of Charles X and the radicals on the left. He stated, "We will attempt to remain in a juste milieu, in an equal distance from the excesses of popular power and the abuses of royal power."
Apparently the term also refers to a 19th century art form, but I will stick to what I know (which is not art history). As it turns out, there are a number of philosophies that emphasize this concept of finding a balance between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency (see, for example, the Greek concept of the Golden mean, the Confucian Doctrine of the Mean, or the Buddhist concept of the Middle Way). I wanted to continue with the theme of the last few posts on confident humility. We've spent a lot of time talking about the Dunning-Kruger Effect, the cognitive bias that suggests that we tend to overestimate our own level of competence. We also talked about the Beginner's Bubble Hypothesis, which suggests that a little knowledge is not necessarily a good thing (as the English poet, Alexander Pope, wrote, "a little learning is a dangerous thing").
We haven't discussed the opposite situation, when truly competent individuals lack self-confidence (the so-called Imposter Syndrome). I wrote a post about this cognitive bias last year (see "Imposters"). Research suggests that nearly 3/4 of all U.S. adults have had Imposter Syndrome at least once in their lifetimes. More striking is the fact that up to 30% of high-achievers suffer from Imposter Syndrome (which is counterintuitive - they are already high-achievers).
If you were to plot confidence ("How good you think you are") versus competence ("How good you really are") on a graph, you'd end up with something like the illustration by Jessica Hagy below:
Here is where the concept of the juste milieu comes in. If an individual has too much confidence compared to his/her level of competence, you get the Dunning-Kruger Effect. Conversely, if an individual is lacking in confidence, even though he/she has been successful, you get the Imposter Syndrome. The key for leaders is to find a balance between the two, the so-called "middle way" between under- and overconfidence. I think the term "confident humility" really fits perfectly here as what leaders should strive towards (and I am assuming that most leaders have the requisite level of competence, which is unfortunately not a universal truth). Adam Grant defines it as "having faith in our capability while appreciating that we may not have the right solution or even be addressing the right problem."
Former Disney CEO Robert Iger also described "confident humility" as an asset for leaders in his book, The Ride of a Lifetime. He writes, "You have to be humble, and you can't pretend to be someone you're not or to know something you don't. You're also in a position of leadership, though, so you can't let humility prevent you from leading...It's a fine line, and something I preach today. You have to ask the questions you need to ask, admit without apology what you don't understand, and do the work to learn what you need to learn as quickly as you can. There's nothing less confidence-inspiring than a person faking a knowledge they don't possess. True authority and true leadership come from knowing who you are and not pretending to be anything else."
Vinita Bansal, in an excellent article ("Confident Humility: Paradox of Successful Leadership") lists the following characteristics of a leader with confident humility:
1. Accepts what they don’t know; don’t fake knowledge they don’t possess
2. Works hard to fill their knowledge gaps
3. Doubts their strategies and ask others for input
4. Reframes their view from “me” to “we”
5. Listens with curiosity while also being confident to speak their mind
6. Doesn’t shy away from making difficult decisions once they have the information
7. Leads with an abundance mentality. That means sharing credit where it is due
8. Accepts mistakes and takes complete responsibility
9. Demonstrates openness to learning from the opposing view during disagreements
10. Seeks feedback to improve
11. Operates with a growth mindset
12. Quick to change their minds as they do not let their beliefs become part of their identity
13. Embraces vulnerability while being careful it does not turn into recklessness
14. Makes space for others to express their ideas before stating their own
15. Holds people accountable and do not shy away from difficult conversations
16. Manages conflict by putting things in perspective and focusing on what can be controlled
17. Confident in their ability to prevent bad outcomes
18. Is an efficient decision maker who doesn’t tolerate indecision in others
19. Believes that they can succeed and hence see opportunities where others see threats
20. Builds confidence in others by taking action, especially when the action involves risk and failure
I want to conclude this post (and really, the theme of the previous posts as well) with another quote from Adam Grant. He writes, "Great thinkers don't harbor doubts because they're imposters. They maintain doubts because they know we're all partially blind and they're committed to improving their sight. They don’t boast about how much they know; they marvel at how little they understand. They’re aware that each answer raises new questions, and the quest for knowledge is never finished. A mark of lifelong learners is recognizing that they can learn something from everyone they meet. Arrogance leaves us blind to our weaknesses. Humility is a reflective lens: it helps us see them clearly. Confident humility is a corrective lens: it enables us to overcome those weaknesses."
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