A Passionate Humility

The rediscovery of genuine, passionate humility as a healthy, life-giving and community-building virtue, capable of transforming our BSE (Blame Someone Else) society.

Words have enormous power. They can make us erupt into laughter or bring tears to our eyes. They can influence, inspire, manipulate and shock. They can build, and they can destroy. Some words have different effects on different people. One such word is humility. It is one of those words that are seldom in neutral gear. Some, like me, love the word and all it stands for. Some almost fear it and interpret it synonymously with lack of self-confidence or timidity. Humility is one of the virtues often mentioned in our everyday life. But what is humility? And is it a virtue? The dictionary defines humility as modesty, lacking pretence, not believing that you are superior to others. An ancillary definition includes: "Having a lowly opinion of oneself, meekness". An interesting dichotomy is that, often, the higher people rise, the more they have accomplished, the higher the humility index. Those who achieve the most brag the least, and the more secure they are in themselves, the more humble they are. There is also an understated humility of everyday people we work with who have the ability to get the job done without drawing attention to themselves. Witness the employee who is working at his computer into the late hours, purely motivated by a keen sense of duty, the executive assistant who stays after 5:30pm on a Friday night in an empty office to await a courier, or the manager who quietly cancels an important personal event to fly out of town to attend to the company's business. This is akin to the philanthropist who gives an anonymous donation. In this book, we will take a critical look at the subject matter of humility, the false assumptions people often make regarding it, and how it is an important quality for everyone to have. We will also provide you tips on how to exercise humility in your everyday life. Happy reading!

Compiling the experience and expertise of over 50 leading international scholars, this Handbook of Teaching Public Administration offers critical insights into the questions, issues, and challenges raised by teaching practitioners and aspiring professionals. Its global scope provides a comprehensive overview of the diversity of current practice in teaching public administration.

Gavin Seah’s True Humility is today’s answer to finding true peace and balance in life. How often have we tried to seek peace through practicing a YOLO mindset, hoped for happiness in the pursuit of wanderlust, or looked to social media to strengthen our identity? These are common behaviors we engage in, sometimes without even realizing it. Inevitably, we later find ourselves in a never-ending state of frustration, anxiety, and depression. Like many in today’s culture and society, Gavin didn’t know that he was searching for happiness and meaning in the wrong places, and he became a victim of his own self-focused behaviors. He also battled the effects of bullying, racism, and ostracism from his past, experiences that affected the way he looked at the world. In True Humility, Gavin shares his personal stories, observations about life, and key takeaways to help readers understand the practice of True Humility. Through powerful insights and actionable advice, he shows us how to reclaim peace and regain the balance we need. You’ll be able to recognize and identify everyday practices in our world that are rooted in self-centered behaviors, learn about three specific moral values that can positively shape your life, discover how to embody the characteristics of True Humility, and begin to create an impact that makes everyone around you better. When you take on the posture of True Humility in your daily life, you elevate it. You’ll be uplifted and changed, able to live at your best.

This book deals in depth with an ancient attribute of effective leaders that has in recent years caught the attention of leadership writers and researchers. Today’s effective leader is expected to demonstrate humility in addition to standard leadership attributes such as self-confidence, high-level cognitive skills, creativity, charisma, and the ability to articulate visions. The theme of this book is that leadership and professional effectiveness are enhanced when interspersed with other key leadership attributes including those mentioned above, assertiveness, a sense of humor, and strategic thinking ability. Many brash and aggressive successful leaders would be even more successful if they sprinkled their leadership approach with humility. This book describes an opinion about the most relevant aspects of humility as it applies to leadership and professional effectiveness, yet the emphasis is on leadership. Equally important, each chapter contains suggestions for making better use of humility. Humility as it relates to leadership and professional effectiveness is covered from many angles. Among these topics are the many meanings and components of humility and how leadership humility impacts group member performance and behavior. We also describe the attributes of humble leaders and professionals and their type of interpersonal relationships. Servant leadership, because of its tie-in with humility, receives a separate chapter. A description is provided about how narcissism, hubris, and charisma can be blended with humility to improve leadership effectiveness. Two other key topics are developing and enhancing your humility and making effective use of humility in leadership and professional life. The major contribution of this book is its systematic presentation of applied information about humility related to leadership effectiveness, such as the impact of humility on job performance and employee behavior, and how humility is part of servant leadership. At the same time, the book provides practical guidelines for applying the information to make optimum use of humility in the workplace.

In his classic book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni laid out a groundbreaking approach for tackling the perilous group behaviors that destroy teamwork. Here he turns his focus to the individual, revealing the three indispensable virtues of an ideal team player. In The Ideal Team Player, Lencioni tells the story of Jeff Shanley, a leader desperate to save his uncle’s company by restoring its cultural commitment to teamwork. Jeff must crack the code on the virtues that real team players possess, and then build a culture of hiring and development around those virtues. Beyond the fable, Lencioni presents a practical framework and actionable tools for identifying, hiring, and developing ideal team players. Whether you’re a leader trying to create a culture around teamwork, a staffing professional looking to hire real team players, or a team player wanting to improve yourself, this book will prove to be as useful as it is compelling.