◼ STRATEGIES Bloomberg Businessweek January 27, 2020
Blessedarethehumble.Increasingly,researchshowsthat
leaderswhosharecreditanddon’tseekthespotlighthave
better-performingteamsthatproducebetterresults.That’s
backedupbydatafromTulsa-basedHoganAssessments,
whichdevelopspersonalityteststopredictworkplace
performance.“ACEOwhomakesbigpromises,whoisa
narcissist,canruina company,”saysHoganChiefScience
OfficerRyneSherman.“Thecuretoallthatishumility.”
—DimitraKessenides
STRONGLYDISAGREEDISAGREEAGREESTRONGLYAGREE
PLAY IT LOW-KEY
41
THEBOTTOMLINE GroupssuchasDeclare,Enrich,andtheYPO
lettopmanagersairgrievancesandseeksolutionstoproblems
they’refacingonthejoborathome.
Do you have enough humility to lead? Take our quiz. Indicate the extent to which you
agreeordisagreewitheachstatement.Workquicklyandrespondtoeverystatement.
big help as her finance startup struggled last year.
“We meet once a month, and everybody is gener-
ous by offering connections for fundraising and
suggestions for partnerships,” Sobieski says.
A more venerable provider of such services
is the YPO—Young Presidents’ Organization—a
70-year-old group that’s adapting to the digital
age. It started in 1950 as a gathering of 20 busi-
ness leaders in New York, and today it has 27,000
members worldwide, whose companies have a
combined revenue of $9 trillion. For an annual
fee of $3,750, members get access to international
events, local meetings with peers, mentorship,
and online coaching. Leah Busque, a founder of
TaskRabbit, a web platform for finding service
workers, joined in 2012. When she was negotiat-
ingthesaleofhercompanytoIkeain2017,she
says,herYPOpeersservedasa sortof“personal
advisory board of directors.” People who had sold
their companies “advised me how to think about
it, and that was incredibly helpful,” says Busque,
who now works at venture fund Fuel Capital.
Without their support, “it would have been a lot
harder, and I would have not been as confident.”
�Serena Saitto
① I appreciate other people’s advice at work
② It’s not my job to applaud others’ achievements
③ People lose respect when they admit their limitations
④ I am entitled to more respect than the average person
⑤ I do many things better than almost everyone I know
⑥It annoysmewhenothersignoremyaccomplishments
TOTAL
questions ② – ⑥for ① questionfor score:yourTally
4 points 1 point DISAGREESTRONGLY
3 points 2 points DISAGREE
2 points 3 points AGREE
1 point 4 points STRONGLY AGREE
Score 6–16:
LOW HUMILITY
Other people are likely
to describe you as
confident and self-
assured, as not paying
attention to feedback,
and as taking yourself
too seriously
Score 17–19:
MODERATE HUMILITY
People will say that you
have a nice mixture of
diffidence and confidence,
and that you know when
to listen and when to
speak up
Score 20–24:
HIGH HUMILITY
Others might describe you as
modest and unassuming, as
respecting others’ opinions, as
willing to listen to (and profit from)
feedback, and as regarding yourself
with some ironic detachment
QUIZ: HOGAN ASSESSMENTS