24
MODESTY - IN LEADERSHIP
Samuel Kobia, Kenya
24.1 Definition and Application
The Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary (Fourth Edition) de-
fines modesty as “approving the quality of not talking about or not try-
ing to make people notice your qualities and achievements.” And one of
the scholars who have written extensively on modesty, Nichiket Kelkar
(in Hindustan Times, 2013) defines modesty as “the quality or state of
being unassuming or moderate in the estimation of one’s abilities.” In
his view, good leaders “should have modesty in abundance,” and that
their service and work should not be motivated by an ego.
Modesty, like humility, may further be defined as lacking in pre-
tence. That also means good leaders should not consider their
knowledge and skills as qualifying them to be superior to others.
Rather, a leader who espouses modesty is one who is always willing
to learn even from his/ her followers. A Modest and humble leader is
always fully aware that change is constant and keeps up, grateful for the
opportunity to learn something new and reinforce the knowledge one
already has. In other words a modest leader is one who accepts his/ her
strengths and uses them for service; as well he/she accepts that weak-
nesses require addressing so as to improve on service delivery.