News from Donald in Duckburg!

Be honest: how many of you actually consider humility a core leadership principle?

For over 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of meeting countless managers and companies. When I ask them which virtues truly matter to them, the most common answers are: trust, responsibility, and respect.
All important values—and yet, I’ve noticed for years: hardly anyone talks about humility in management.

As Socrates once wrote: “Humility is the greatest of all virtues.”

Perhaps that’s because humility is often misunderstood in organizations.

Many associate humility with weakness: making yourself small, holding back, letting others go first. But that’s a myth. Humble people are not fragile. On the contrary—they have strong self-confidence, which allows them to see themselves more objectively, value others more, and remain open to new information.
Humble people don’t think less of themselves—they just think of themselves less.

Especially in times of crisis, this mindset can make the decisive difference.

Because we are facing challenges that no one can solve alone. We need high-performing teams in which everyone can contribute their talents and abilities. We need leaders who don’t take themselves too seriously, who acknowledge their weaknesses, and who are open to the ideas of others. This is how we create an environment in which individuals and teams can grow—and the best solutions can emerge.

The term itself, by the way, derives from the words “to serve” and “courage.” To serve the collective—and to have the courage to let go and allow others. That is what unlocks potential and accelerates innovation.

Especially in times when “strong men” in politics are once again on the rise—claiming to know everything and to have the right answer for everything—humility would be the antidote. Yet too often these days, it feels like listening is a thing of the past—now it’s: my way or no way.

Like Donald Duck from Duckburg, who recently stood before the United Nations claiming he had personally ended seven wars and deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.