Hubris & its Antidote Humility

Why do great men and women fall? How do leaders who are quick to ascend with such promise of unparalleled success find themselves awash in disastrous failure and disgrace? Although there could be many reasons for it, in his book, “How the Mighty Fall,” Jim Collins gives Hubris as the first stage of a leader’s decline.

We all know the story of the Titanic. Back in 1912, when Titanic left Belfast for its sea trials, it was said to be bigger, better, and bolder than anything on the planet at the time. It was the ultimate in luxury cruising and was believed to be unsinkable due to its advanced design and numerous safety features.  Yet within weeks, Titanic tragically sank on its maiden voyage. The great disaster soon overshadowed the outstanding achievement of the ship’s design. Once Titanic tragically hit the iceberg in the cold Atlantic Ocean, it didn’t matter how fast it could go, how elegant it was, or how much it cost to build the ship; it was never going to escape its fate.

Did you know that the Titanic received seven iceberg warnings throughout the day? One couldn’t help but wonder why Caption Edward John Smith chose not to slow down or turn south in response to the threat of icebergs.

See, the thing about icebergs is that their might is deep-rooted. You just see the tip. You presume it’s nothing, but it’s monstrous underneath.

Just like the iceberg that brought down the Titanic, Hubris would bring down the mighty and the ones who are too strong to their knees and ultimately to their destruction.

What is Hubris? It’s a Greek word for excessive pride that brings down a hero. Hubris is a big problem for leaders. Many great leaders and organizations have succumbed to hubris. How do you detect Hubris in one’s life?

Here are the three markers to identify Hubris. You could use this as a self-diagnostic checklist.

Self-diagnostic Checklist – To Identify Hubris

1. Attributes Success to their Superior Qualities – When things are going well, and people start praising the leader, the leader starts believing in God-like presence and their superior qualities. They forget the many folks who helped them get there. They pump their fist and say I did it.
2. Stops Learning – They stop listening and accepting feedback. 
3. Discounting the Role of Luck – We all know that part of our success is because we were at the right place, at the right time, with the right people under the right economic and social conditions that contributed to our success. When leaders presume that success is entirely due to what they did and how they did it, they succumb to Hubris.

So, what is the Antidote for Hubris? It’s Humility

To become a leader who is excellent in character, one needs to walk humbly. Here are the three principles that would help you with it.

• The Window and the Mirror Principle – The essence of the Window and the Mirror leader is that when things go great, the leader looks out the window and gives credit to others. When things go wrong, they look in the mirror. They look within themselves and take complete responsibility for the failure.
• Be a Learning Person instead of a Knowing Person – The leader is entirely aware of their blind spots and seeks the help of others to point them to the issues they don’t see and fill in the gaps. They ask tough questions to understand the situation better.  They constantly want to learn from others. They never think I know it all.
• Understand that Past Success has no say in your Current and Future Endeavours: You would have had an excellent track record of leading well for years or perhaps even decades, yet that doesn’t guarantee your current and future success.

 Titanic’s creators believed they had built an unsinkable ship that the laws of nature could not defeat. We all know what happened to Titanic. This could happen to any individual and any organization.

I would like to close with a quote that my mom quoted during my growing years,

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18

I am unsure I understood what it meant then, but I do now.

Let us watch and be on guard so this iceberg – pride doesn’t destroy us.