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Hubris or humility? Which “h” word influences your leadership style?
At work this week we had a discussion with senior managers about diversity and inclusion, based on Peggy McIntosh’s article, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack. Take a minute to click that hyperlink and check out her article…I’ll wait.
McIntosh discusses a corollary of racism: white privilege. She realized that just by being white, she had certain privileges, many of which aren’t obvious without a certain amount of awareness and introspection. In fact, she argued, whites are taught not to recognize our privileges. Do you agree with her assertion? If you’re white, have you ever noticed that the color of your skin gave you an advantage? This is different from realizing that minorities sometimes face disadvantages because of their skin color.
What our discussion at work unearthed was the realization that a lot of the privileges on McIntosh’s list (if not all) were things that we consciously knew were unfair, unethical, or immoral. But here’s the key: do you recognize when you’re benefiting from an advantage, whether it’s because of your skin color, your gender, or your religion? If you do recognize it, are you doing anything about it?
One leader had a particularly astute observation. He suggested that McIntosh’s list exist because of hubris. In the field of organizational development, this is similar to the concept of self-embededness. Both terms basically reflect an inward, self-centeredness. So, he argued, humility was the key to breaking down the wall these privileges supported.
What do you think about that? I think it’s a really introspective thought. This leader really “got” McIntosh’s message and was beginning to internalize it in the short time we had a discussion. Think about this. Hubris causes you to think of yourself, first. This was the characteristic that brought down heroes of Greek tragedies, because the hubris grew bigger than them. If you are focused inward, you will only notice when the world is being “unfair” and will conveniently ignore times that everything is “falling into place” without much effort. Humility, on the other hand, suggests an outward focus. If you’re humble, you elevate others before yourself. You think of other people first, and put their interests at the top.
So what does this say about diversity and inclusion principles? Perhaps if you’re focused on others, you will notice things like the privileges McIntosh discussed. Perhaps if you’re focused on others you won’t allow discrimination or unfair treatment to continue. Your efforts will go toward ensuring that other people have an easier time navigating through life.
This is a powerful message in terms of your leadership practices. Are you so self-embedded that “your” way is the “right” or “only” way? Or are you practicing servant-leadership (more on that in a future post) and thinking of others, first? Think about how your employees will react to a change in policy, based on their perspective and life experiences, not your own. Try to think of their frame of reference and put yourself in it.
This is the only way that you will be able to create a diverse and inclusive environment in your work group. If you understand that your experiences are just one example of how a person’s life can play out, then you’ll have an easier time stepping outside of that experience to learn about others’ lives. When you do that, you’re showing respect and appreciation for your employees; you’re being diverse. This mindset allows you to overlap your subconscious actions or thoughts with your conscious mind that tells you something is wrong. Instead of intellectually knowing discrimination is wrong but silently allowing it to continue to happen, you will be building credibility by melding action with word and thought.
What are you doing to make sure you encourage diversity and inclusion in your work group? Are you acting with humility, or hubris?
