The CEO and chairman of Barings, LLC, Thomas Finke oversees day-to-day operations at the $335 billion institutional asset management company. Prior to taking this position, Thomas “Tom” Finke led several other successful companies, including First Union Institutional Debt Management and Babson Capital.
Humility is a trait that is shared by many successful executives, but can be difficult to develop. This is usually because it requires total acceptance of yourself and acknowledgement of your fallibility. The following are several practices that can help develop humility:
Listen to Others
One of the best ways to start learning humility to by familiarizing yourself with the feelings and values of others. To do this, spend some time listening to people. Don’t try and solve their problems for them, just be a caring ear and let them express themselves.
Admit That You Aren’t Perfect
No one is the best at everything in the world, but you may be hesitant to admit that. But admitting that you aren’t perfect is an extremely important part of being more humble. Even if you do happen to be the best in the world at one thing, there are plenty of other things that you likely struggle with.
Own Up to Your Mistakes
Regardless of how much experience you have or how good you are at something, no one is perfect. When you do make a mistake, admit that you were responsible and work on improving your behavior so the same mistake doesn’t happen again. This helps people respect you more than if you covered your error up.
Ask for Help When Needed
As much as you may want to, solving all your own problems isn’t always possible. In situations when you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Asking for help doesn’t mean you are incapable of leading others; rather, it is a good indicator of humility.
Humility is a trait that is shared by many successful executives, but can be difficult to develop. This is usually because it requires total acceptance of yourself and acknowledgement of your fallibility. The following are several practices that can help develop humility:
Listen to Others
One of the best ways to start learning humility to by familiarizing yourself with the feelings and values of others. To do this, spend some time listening to people. Don’t try and solve their problems for them, just be a caring ear and let them express themselves.
Admit That You Aren’t Perfect
No one is the best at everything in the world, but you may be hesitant to admit that. But admitting that you aren’t perfect is an extremely important part of being more humble. Even if you do happen to be the best in the world at one thing, there are plenty of other things that you likely struggle with.
Own Up to Your Mistakes
Regardless of how much experience you have or how good you are at something, no one is perfect. When you do make a mistake, admit that you were responsible and work on improving your behavior so the same mistake doesn’t happen again. This helps people respect you more than if you covered your error up.
Ask for Help When Needed
As much as you may want to, solving all your own problems isn’t always possible. In situations when you need help, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Asking for help doesn’t mean you are incapable of leading others; rather, it is a good indicator of humility.
