Leading with humility in tumultuous times: evidence from the United States

Abstract

PurposeWicked problems, cross-sectoral and transregional collaborations, emerging technologies and calls for innovation generate exciting but unpredictable transformations in governance. Emerging research suggests humility, rather than certitude, represents a promising ethos for public leaders working to solve problems in tumultuous times. This study examines the nature, value and practice of humility in public administration (PA) leadership.Design/methodology/approachThis study reviews cross-disciplinary research on the nature and value of humility and emerging findings and debates on humility assessment measures. It analyzes discourse among graduate students in US PA classes and uses ethnographic analysis from workshops with local government leaders to identify institutional dynamics that may influence leaders' willingness to act with humility.FindingsFindings suggest that although PA students and leaders may value humility, they encounter institutional constraints related to public sector legitimacy and narratives about expertise and risk. The author proposes a framework to guide future research and practice in humility and public leadership.Research limitations/implicationsPotential constraints emerged from a modest study of courses and workshops; further research is required to test the prevalence of themes across public leadership environments.Practical implicationsPublic leaders, teachers and coaches may apply these practices and assessment measures to cultivate humility in PA classes and organizations.Originality/valueThis study is among the first to explore leadership humility with attention to how PA context may influence practice.

هل تقود القيادة الحكيمة إلى تأييد الموظفين والاحتفاظ بهم في وكالات السفر؟

“…Accordingly, fulfilling a good future vision and being true to it seem to subordinates like encouraging opportunities to learn new things and act in a particular goal-oriented way (McClellan, 2020). For this reason, wise leaders are able to persuade others of their worth based on establishing relationships, being true to their words, and providing chances for knowledge exchange for employees (Schiuma et al, 2022).…”

“…By displaying an interest in experiences, wise leaders dedicate themselves to lifelong learning (Verhezen, 2024). They also readily accept that they are not experts in everything and are open to learning from others, including their subordinates (McClellan, 2020).…”

Developing Cultural Humility in Leadership Education Programs to Promote Community Leadership

“…In line with the theoretical foundation of the present article, Lund and Lee (2018) suggested, “…cultural humility moves beyond rigid categories of knowledge, attitudes, and skills and towards a continuous critical refinement and fostering of a way of thinking and knowing—a critical consciousness of self, others, and the world” (p. 244). As McClellan (2022) pointed out, “emerging research suggests humility, rather than certitude, represents a promising ethos for public leaders working to solve problems in tumultuous times” (p. 265). Each of these elements of humility—the proper perspective of self, others, and a larger environment—provide an avenue to support community leaders in addressing challenges associated with the increase of refugee populations.…”

Editorial A new research agenda for decentering public leadership

“…Scholars, not least in this journal, have explored public leadership as a collective (Miao and Ju, 2020; Torfing et al , 2019), multilevel (Capler, 2020), and highly relational (McClellan, 2020) endeavor. Furthermore, they have developed an appreciation of leadership as imbued with public values (Cao et al , 2018), pointing to particular ethical dimensions (Hattke and Hattke, 2019; Özsungur, 2020) of public leadership.…”