This PsyBlog post on the surprising attributes of great leaders is not so surprising to Pack Leader Psychology readers.
Apparently, research has shown that humility is an important characteristic of successful leaders. Quoting from an Administrative Science Quarterly article:
“Overall, humble individuals accept that something is greater than the self. Humility is manifested in self-awareness, openness to feedback, appreciation of others, low self-focus, and pursuit of self-transcendence.
Humble people willingly seek accurate self-knowledge and accept their imperfections while remaining fully aware of their talents and abilities.
They appreciate others’ positive worth, strengths, and contributions and thus have no need for entitlement or dominance over others.” (Ou et al., 2014).
As I write in Pack Leader Psychology, insecure people with low self-worth may be Dominators, who attempt to exert control and power over others to manage their fears. A key character trait of Dominators is a lack of accountability for their behaviors. They have difficulty handling the shame of criticism, so they tend to lash out in anger and blame others. They rarely can apologize, take responsibility or admit fault. Dominators clearly lack humility, and are often labeled as “narcissistic” or “antisocial” or “bullies.”
But Pack Leaders are the opposite. They can be self-aware of both their faults and talents, without being boastful, as Dominator would be, or self-deprecating, as a Submissive would be.
We need more balanced Pack Leaders as CEOs and politicians!