3b6: Confident Humility is Required to Build Trust

It’s horrifying to open our weaknesses in front of others. Especially if we’re raised in a culture that promotes being the best and the strongest in society, it’s challenging to admit mistakes publicly and tell everyone where our weaknesses are. However, there is no better way to build trust. If we can show humility while knowing our strengths and displaying them with our weaknesses, people build trust because they get to know us better. If they don’t know or can’t rely on us or guess how we will react to certain situations, they can’t trust us. It’s that simple.

When I think about managers I’ve worked with, the best ones were the ones who say, “I don’t know” or “I was wrong.” They knew their weaknesses in the team or, in general, the company. Instead of hiding them, they embraced them and allowed others to fill the gap in their knowledge. They also knew their strengths. They were confident in some areas; they knew what they were good at. Meanwhile, they also accepted that they were wrong, even in their confidence area. They were always open to learning. Adam Grant defines this behavior as confident humility. And that’s what they had.

• Source(s): Think Again by Adam Grant;