Peter Drucker asserted that people encounter sudden incompetence when they believe in a new role; they can continue doing what made them successful in the old role. This YouTube video summarizes his thoughts and the cure for sudden incompetence.
At what point does someone become unteachable? That is when sudden incompetence occurs; a person in a new role keeps doing the things that gave them success before, but they no longer work. Yet, they refuse to learn and adjust to their new role.
The cure for sudden incompetence is to be humble enough to remain teachable regardless of experience or past successes. Be humble enough to remain a lifelong learner.
A quote from The Millionaire Mind, by Thomas Stanley, answered my question, “Why is humility good business?” The author interviewed an entrepreneur that owns and runs an auto junkyard. He asked the owner what made him successful.
The owner replied that at first, he got a lot of pushback from his family. he said his mother asked him, “Anyone can own a junkyard. Why did you go to college—not to own junk!”
Yet, this owner was a deca-millionaire. The author noted that many people overlook opportunities because social status and concern about appearances keep many from noticing opportunities. That led to Thomas Stanley’s quote:
Like most English words, pride is a nuanced word that can have both good and bad meanings. I like what John Maxwell says about pride and humility.
“There are two kinds of pride, both good and bad. ‘Good pride’ represents our dignity and self-respect. ‘Bad pride’ is the deadly sin of superiority that reeks of conceit and arrogance.”
We consider leaders to be people with huge egos. And it does take self-confidence and bravado to rise up through the ranks of any organization or field. However, Ken Blanchard reminds me the biggest obstacle to a leader’s growth is their ego.
“The biggest obstacle that stalls leaders’ growth is the human ego. When leaders start to think they know it all, they stop growing.”
We stop growing when we begin to think we know it all. After all, why stop growing if you’ve reached the pinnacle of knowledge and accomplishment? The ego is very good at stunting our growth.
And in an ever-changing world, it is foolish to believe we know it all in any and every situation. If the situation changes, how can past knowledge possibly account for that?
We experience this roadblock whenever we present a new idea and someone says, “We tried that before and it didn’t work.” Or, “The old way got us here. If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” Not only does ego keep us from growing, but it also stops us from moving forward.
Pride and haughtiness blind us. The moment we think we know it all is the moment we have chosen to close our eyes to possibilities. We stop thinking and start making excuses.
When a Leader Stops Growing
When a leader decides they know it all, they stall their growth. As a result, the organization they lead stalls. It may be subtle at first. It can take years to see the results. But slowly and surely, the organization begins to die.
A leader who lets ego define them soon finds their influence dying. Without growth, there is death. And without the humility to change, people and organizations tend to fade away.
The biggest obstacle to a leader’s growth is their ego. Let’s remember to have the humility and courage to acknowledge we don’t know everything.
“The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.”
Winston Churchill
It is too easy to write someone off because they have been foolish in the past. We put labels on those we don’t agree with because it is easier than carefully considering if there is some truth in their assertions.
We may even feel threatened that a group we don’t agree with has a good idea that we haven’t thought of. Surely if it was a good idea, we would have thought of it, right?
Wisdom takes humility. Every person can teach us something. It takes discernment to listen and consider other points of view. The echo chamber we are tempted to live in eventually makes us deaf.
Even fools are right sometimes. Humility makes us consider that to someone else, we may look like a fool and we are right sometimes too.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
