Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust (The Humble Leadership Series)

In case you haven’t noticed, traditional forms of leadership and organization are increasingly ineffective. They're increasingly under fire, too. Edgar and Peter Schein think there’s a reason for that. Here’s how they put it in Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust.“The traditional 20th-century culture of management can be described as a transactional set of relationships among designated roles that unwittingly creates conditions of low openness and low trust and can therefore make truly effective leadership difficult.” Humble Leadership is about how you can change that. It’s about how you can lead where you are in a way that makes a difference. I purchased this book because I’d read many books by Edgar Schein over the years. They were all insightful and prodded my thinking. They made me a better leader. When I combined that experience with the purpose of the book, it seemed like it would be a winner. The book got off to a slow start. The “examples” the authors used seemed abstract, almost made up. The first two chapters worried me. I thought this might be the first Edgar Schein book I’d read that was awful. I shouldn’t have worried. Beginning with Chapter 3, the pace of the book picks up and it reads more easily. The examples are concrete and identifiable. I tell you this because you may be tempted to close the book in the first two chapters. Don’t do that. You may also be tempted to skip the first two chapters since you know they’re the dull parts. Don’t do that either. The first two chapters give you basic concepts that will illuminate the examples in the rest of the book. There are two important concepts. Personization Many styles of leadership treat people as if they were interchangeable parts. Companies commonly try to shape people to fit the job or role. Most don't try to discover what people are particularly good at and how they can make their best contribution. Personization is the process of turning roles and jobs into people. People are messier than roles and jobs. They show up with emotions and interests. They get passionate about stuff that seems to have no bearing on what their job is. I wondered about the need for a new word, but I got it after reading several examples. “Personization” may be a made-up, special word, but it’s easier than any alternative I could come up with. By the end of the book, I was not only comfortable with it, I used it. Levels of RelationshipHere’s how the authors describe the four levels of relationship. “Level -1: Total and personal domination and coercion. Level 1: Transactional role and rule-based supervision, service, and most forms of “professional” helping relationships.Level 2: Personal cooperative, trusting relationships as in friendships and in effective teams.Level 3: Emotionally-intimate, total mutual commitments.” We already use these (without the labels) in our personal life. The relationship that we have with our physicians and with people we see every day but don’t know well is much like level 1. Most leadership is transactional. Our friends are at level 2. The people we hold close, like family and our most intimate friends, are at level 3. The Scheins’ say because we use this framework in our everyday life, it’s easy to translate it to our working life. That was true for me as I worked through the book and tried to apply the framework in a business context. There are two reasons I like this book. Doable TransformationMany of the books on new ways to lead, such as Humanocracy, are “boil the ocean” books. They call for a major, permanent overhaul of whole organizations. While that might be great, it’s not likely to happen. My life experience tells me that we’re talking about generational change. The most powerful force for change will not be some theory. It will be the retirement ceremony. Humble Leadership Allows for HierarchyMost other “reformist” thinking on leadership in organizations says to rid of hierarchy. That won’t happen. Human beings are hard-wired to be sensitive to hierarchy. Humble leadership works in a hierarchy. You can practice humble leadership and not be seen as some wild-eyed reformer.I've observed and studied effective leaders for decades. Most of the do what the Scheins suggest. In A NutshellIf you want to become the best leader you can be, you should read Humble Leadership. You’ll be introduced to a system that will seem familiar because you already use it in your personal life. The humble leadership idea doesn’t require wholesale transformation of entire organizations. It doesn't ask you to defy human nature by eliminating hierarchy. You can do it all without assuming the role or wild-eyed reformer.

Does the book title conjure up a sweet, grandmotherly boss? Does it suggest a humble-pie-eating manager? Wipe those images from your mind since that’s not what the authors are referring to. One example of Humble Leadership comes from Singapore which is an authoritarian dictatorship. Another comes from the military which traditionally runs on unquestioned hierarchy. Humble Leadership is not about being nice. It’s not even confined to formally recognized leaders.The End of Vertical HierarchyHumble leadership offers an antidote to arrogant leadership, but it’s also the antithesis of the seemingly more attractive leader-as-hero. Whether it’s the sole, revered visionary or simple old-fashioned hierarchy they make clear why it’s not going to help us in the future.Old forms of leadership may have worked when technology was nascent and leaders held power over vital information, but our current age is characterized by rapid-paced, technological change and “messy complex problems.” No one person has all the information needed to make good, timely decisions.The speed of change, complexity of tasks and constant disruption requires organizations to be nimble and ready to pivot. To do that employees have to be as networked and facile as the technology they rely on. To achieve that level of connectedness, Edgar and Peter Schein provide a guide to Humble Leadership.Different Leader-Relationship TypesTo understand the concept, it’s important to know the authors’ ranking of work relationships. They’ve defined four levels while highlighting what’s needed for effective workplace communication.Level -1 (Negative 1) - Fear: Totally impersonal relationships characterized by domination and coercion. An example would be illegal immigrants working in a sweatshop being threatened with deportation if they complain about working conditions.Level 1 - Distance: Transactional relationships characterized as role and rule-based supervision and service. An example would be dealing with doctors and lawyers where there’s an expected level of social and professional distance.Level 2 - Openness: Relationships that acknowledge the whole person characterized by a deeper level of trust and openness. An example would be how we deal with friends and family. (Ideal)Level 3 - Intimacy: Close relationships characterized by love and emotional attachment. Examples could range from extremely close friendships to office romance and nepotism.Transactional Organizational CultureWhat the authors see a lot of in corporate America is Level 1 relationships. These transactional relationships go hand-in-hand with formal hierarchy. In organizations characterized by Level 1 culture, leadership is solely responsible for the direction of the company, communication is top-down and employees are expected to execute a prescribed game plan.In these types of organizations, the authors report mistrust of leadership and a higher potential for employee burnout. They point to recent scandals at Volkswagen and Wells Fargo as extreme examples of what can go wrong in Level 1 cultures. Leadership dictated unrealistic goals, turned a deaf ear to employee warnings and nearly brought down 2 venerable institutions.Impact of Level 2 RelationshipsThe authors propose that leaders develop Level 2 relationships with subordinates and colleagues in order to build environments that ensure success given today’s workplace challenges. This does not equate to “soft” or nice leadership. It means forming relationships with others in order to increase the level of trust and reduce the amount of fear. The more fear in an organization, the less likely employees are to share vital information. The less sharing of information, the more likely leadership is to make faulty or late decisions.The assumption is that “leadership exists in all corners and levels of all organizations” and since we rely on each other to make the right decisions, quickly, it is critical to support and encourage this interchange. When leaders initiate the kinds of conversations that allow all levels to see each other as whole people, employees feel safe to contribute. The result is groups and work teams solving problems together. Without these active networks, organizations don’t have the information to thrive in the marketplace.A Whole New WordPutting a finer point on what it takes to build Level 2 relationships, the authors coined the term - “personization.” They define it as, “the process of mutually building a working relationship with a fellow employee, teammate, boss, subordinate or colleague based on trying to see that person as a whole, not just the role that he or she may occupy at the moment.” (They considered the existing word, “personalization” but decided against it since it’s come to mean “customization.”)Again, it’s not about becoming “besties” with your work mates. You don’t even have to like everyone you work with. It’s about providing “psychological safety” such that you can get work done faster and better.Case Studies:The stories of Humble Leadership in action come from a number of unlikely sources:In Singapore, an authoritarian dictatorship, “early leaders...and their colleagues took to building a modern city-state out of an economically declining colony.” The authors describe the methods and journey of these leaders and maintain, “Humble Leadership contributed to Singapore’s economic success!”Virginia Mason’s medical center transitioned to a Level 2 culture after coalescing around a shared vision of the future. It’s a well-documented Lean transformation story, but the authors illuminate the role of Humble Leadership in their success.The U.S. Military story is a great example since it’s a place “in which Level 2 relationships seem most out of place.” This is the account of how a nuclear submarine with a demoralized culture became a “high-morale, effective, proud Level 2 organization” through Humble Leadership.These are great examples in part because they emerge from unexpected sources. They showcase the power and possibility of “personization.” Other stories range from efforts at auto manufacturer Saab, early days at Sun Microsystems, to the nonprofit wildlife protection efforts of The Massachusetts Audubon Society. All detailing the lessons from and the positive impact of cooperative leadership.From Transactional to PersonalSince Humble Leadership is key to thriving in an age of accelerating systemic change, it’s important to understand how to make it happen. In the face of competitiveness and one-upmanship how does one pivot to a culture of empowerment and interdependence? On a simple level, it involves talking to people with a “spirit of inquiry.”Countermeasures range on a continuum from making eye contact to taking employees to lunch. The point is to convey to one another, “I see you.” They make the point that this is different from “I like you” or inviting people over for dinner. While we are often eager to “power-through” agendas, it’s more effective to build time into the start of meetings for simple exchange especially when bringing new members into the group. Just enough to see each other as “whole people.”Getting Proficient at Humble LeadershipIn the last chapter, the authors outline a self-directed program for becoming a Level 2 Leader. It’s a 3-part curriculum described down to task-level detail.Read Books: Deepen your understanding of Humble Leadership by reading a curated list of books.The authors describe 10 books including what each adds to the conversationEstablish Current State: Do some homework to understand the current state of your work relationships and build a plan to move them more fully into Level 2.The authors provide tools and guidance on how to embrace the right mindset, how to uncover your own biases and realize your blind spotsPractice: Try out new behaviours by conducting “Empathy Walks” and learn by doing your own fieldwork.The authors provide sample questions to pose to others and step-by-step instructions on how to conduct your own experiential learning and benefit from Level 2 relationships.Edgar Schein’s Impact in the WorldThis is a deceptively simple concept and Humble Leadership rounds out the trilogy on the theme he started with his remarkable book Humble Inquiry. It’s impossible to overstate the contributions of Edgar Schein to the field of organizational development, and how great it is that his son has become a dynamic co-author. Books with “humble,” “gentle” and “relationship” in the title can seem out of place in a world bent on disrupting industries and capturing market share but thanks to the Scheins they are inextricably interlinked.Reading these cases and learning about the people and organizations touched by Edgar Schein and his son Peter leaves the reader with profound appreciation for the impact this nonagenarian, and now his son, have had in the world. We spend the a huge chunk of our waking hours at our jobs and thanks to Edgar and Peter Schein there’s a path to turning our organizations into arenas where we can flourish and do gratifying work. We should all endeavor to have such positive impact on the world.

The overall message of book and the writing simplicity are solid. It offers an interesting perspective on work relationship being more genuine and connected as people, not just co-workers. The book repeats the same message with an over redundancy. Easy to pick up where you left off as it feels like you just read the same thing a few pages before.

Humble Leadership is a must read for any aspiring or experienced leader. Edgar and Peter Schein describe the kind of leadership needed to engage today's multi-generational, multi-professional, multi-ethnic work teams. It's an easy and engaging read with the provocative assertion that real leaders are not arrogant command-givers but astute listeners who are able to be vulnerable and skilled at facilitation.A must-read book for current and future leaders.

It confirms the fact that all leading is also careing, and having the courage to tell the facts as they are and to change them from the root when needed.

The best book I’ve read in many years. It’s not just about organizations but basically about the human condition in the 21 century. All of us who live in groups, which is The Basic condition of the human race will benefit from reading and learning this book. The book is a great humble book for strong relational humble people!!!

An essential reminder that employees are humans not just resources and are most likely to engage, think and perform their best if managers relate to them as "persons" and treat them with basic respect.

Most interchanges between parties has to do with what will you give me if I give you this. That is transactional. Transformational is how we both become better because of our interaction.

Top takeaways from reading the book:- Location 250: In climbing the corporate ladder, top executives were rewarded for competitive individualism. Too many are unwilling or unable to change their behavior and build reward structures that strengthen new cultures of teamwork, engagement and innovation.- Location 600: Learning together is one of the best ways of getting to know each other. Why? Because in that context, people can give each other feedback and suggestions on how work can be done better.

Simple and profound. Case studies are very relevant and insightful. The recommended books and exercises towards the end are very interesting.

Dit boek richt zich op de vragen: ‘welk leiderschap, van wie leidt tot openheid, vertrouwen en samen leren?’ En ‘Hoe maak je relaties meer persoonlijk?’ De antwoorden zijn concreet en essentieel voor leiders in deze tijd.