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by Ken Snyder 

With “Respect Every Individual,” the principle of “Lead with Humility” is the partner principle that together comprise the Cultural Enablers dimension of the Shingo Guiding Principles. Since becoming Executive Director three years ago, my observation is that this principle has resulted in more questions and misunderstandings than any other principle.  

Common Misunderstandings 

Admittedly, a lot of the confusion comes from a basic misunderstanding of two things: 

• what is effective leadership; and  
• what is the meaning of humility. 

Unfortunately, too many people envision a command and control figure when they envision an effective leader. Our research proves that command and control may get results in the short-term, but it will not be sustainable over time. Again, too many people think humility means “meek” and/or “submissive,” and therefore, not demanding. Quite the contrary.  

Our Definition 

The definition of “Lead with Humility” that we use in the Shingo Model is: 

 “One common trait among leading practitioners of enterprise excellence is a sense of humility. Humility is an enabling principle that precedes learning and improvement. A leader’s willingness to seek input, listen carefully and continuously learn creates an environment where associates feel respected and energized and give freely of their creative abilities.” 

Our research indicates that a leader who leads with this kind of humility can be even more demanding because of the respect elicited from her or his colleagues. 

Steve Jobs & Ohno Taiichi 

The name most commonly evoked in voicing these misunderstandings is Steve Jobs. In reading various portraits of Jobs, I often read of a man who was open to the ideas of others, listened to others – at least as long as they suggested ideas that helped move the work forward, and he often was willing to admit it was the “team.” This was especially true after his return to Apple. Admittedly, Jobs was often not patient, and he was very demanding. Reading about Jobs reminds me a lot of what I have read about Ohno Taiichi, who was also not patient, and was also very demanding. But both of these leaders meet our definition in that both sought input, listened carefully, and continuously learned. 

Existing Outstanding Materials 

This principle is blessed with an outstanding body of work which informs our understanding it and has guided us in how we define and teach it as a guiding principle. Let me share a few examples of existing outstanding materials: 

• Arbinger Institute (https://arbingerinstitute.com), and their works Leadership and Self-Deception and The Outward Mindset. 
• Servant Leadership, as taught by Robert Greenleaf and the Center for Servant Leadership (https://www.greenleaf.org). Greenleaf himself authored seven books on servant leadership, and many more have authored additional books based on Greenleaf’s work. 
• Institute for Mindful Leadership (https://instituteformindfulleadership.org) founded by Janice Marturano. This Institute is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to training and supporting leaders and potential leaders in the exploration of mindful leadership. 
• Edgar Schein and his work on “humble inquiry” (for example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOw0IDrKvuw).  

We have seen Shingo Prize recipients who have adopted – along with their Shingo-related improvement efforts – one of the programs provided by Arbinger, the Center for Servant Leadership, and the Institute for Mindful Leadership. 

An Action Verb 

When the Shingo Model was introduced in 2008, the Institute was careful in wording the guiding principles in such a way that the opening word of each guiding principle is an action verb. In this case, the action verb is “to lead.” 

Suggested Changes 

The suggested changes are all based on the existing materials described above. Advocates of the Arbinger Institute suggest “Lead with an Outward Mindset.” Advocates of servant leadership suggest “Lead as a Servant.” And, advocates of Mindful Leadership suggest “Lead as a Mindful Leader.” All of these suggestions benefit from the existing body of work. All of these options seem to be effective tools in helping people understand how to apply the principle. 

There are some common problems with each of these suggestions: 

These existing bodies of work are similar but not identical. Each one is narrower than our current definition, and selection of one of these options would narrow the meaning and exclude important aspects of the principle. 

Since we have seen Shingo Prize recipient organizations effectively use all of these resources, we feel it would be wrong to endorse one approach over the others. All of these suggestions suffer from the same problem we currently face – that is, they will be confusing for people to understand. 

Conclusion 

While the current confusion with the principle “Lead with Humility” suggests there is room for improvement, we are not confident that any of the suggested received to date will be any less confusing. And the suggestions will probably narrow the definition more than we would like. We are always open to suggestions. If you make a suggestion, please describe how your idea fits the intended meaning of the principle, and why your suggested phrasing of the principle helps you understand the principle better. 

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