Building Blocks of Your Career Series, Part 9: Humbition

We started this Building Blocks of Your Career Series with Passion & Purpose. For No. 9 of 9 in the series, let’s close with a great bookend to complete the series ‒ the concept of Humbition.

In December 2019, I published an article in the Foreword Press called Win the Next Decade: Start by Making Humble Leadership YOUR “Go-To Move” for 2020. In it, I shared a quote by Bill Taylor, from his article in the Harvard Business Review:

If Humility Is So Important, Why Are Leaders So Arrogant?

In that article, he wrote, “Indeed, humility in the service of ambition is the most effective and sustainable mindset for leaders who aspire to do big things in a world filled with huge unknowns. Years ago, a group of HR professionals at IBM embraced a term to capture this mindset. The most effective leaders, they argued, exuded a sense of ‘humbition,’ which they defined as ‘one-part humility and one-part ambition’ (emphasis mine).

Since I can’t come close to improving on his wording, I will share Taylor’s thoughts verbatim to see if they speak to you as they did to me. He wrote, “Humility can feel soft at a time when problems are hard; it can make leaders appear vulnerable when people are looking for answers and reassurances.” He continues, “Of course, that’s precisely its virtue: The most effective business leaders don’t pretend to have all the answers; the world is just too complicated for that. They understand that their job is to get the best ideas from the right people, whomever and wherever those people may be.”

With that simple idea in the forefront of our mind, it would seem “humbition” is more than the “go-to move” for all of us. Instead, it’s a “closers” move. And whether we’re the leader, the executive manager or we’re just aspiring to be a leader working our way up and through an organization, we would be wise to understand what it means to be humbitious and seek out ways to make the practice of “Humbitious Leadership” one that others recognize and value in us.

As this is a wrap-up of a nine-part series, let’s also be clear that many outside of the golf business think this role of being a golf professional is easy. They seem to view it as a two-dimensional (2D) world where we only need to be “good at the game” and “good with people.” On the face of it, that may be true. But, for those of us who know better, we would say that successful golf professionals operate in four dimensions (4D) and there are portions of the role that require humility and ambition in each of these four dimensions. Let’s expand on what that means below.

Good at THE GAME (of Golf)

  • Humble: We know this one. As golfers, and as golf professionals, we instinctively react to great shots and scores with humility. We tip the cap, we briefly raise our hand and give a small fist pump. We “act like we been there before” as the legendary Nebraska football coach, Dr. Tom Osborne, used to tell his players. We also know from sports psychology that celebrating success correctly is a great way to imprint the right feelings of success and generate more success, so maybe some of us are getting better at “humbitious celebrations” on the golf course and in other areas of our lives.
  • Ambitious: To be our best, and most consistent as golfers, we need to ambitiously seek out ways to get better at the disciplines of the game (driving, putting, chipping, course management, etc.). We know that in order to keep from leveling off or going backwards, we need to have the drive to keep working out the small but measurable improvements.

Good at THE GAME (of Self-Awareness)

  • Humble: To be a good teammate, a good leader and a good friend, we all need self-awareness (and with it self-regulation). Another word for humble self-awareness is introspection. Being capable of introspection means one has the capacity to examine/observe their own actions, words, non-verbals and their “inner monologue” (thought life). Introspection is not an unfair view of self either; the goal is to reach a fair, accurate and unbiased conclusion of oneself.
  • Ambitious: We can win when we’re ambitious and driven about getting better at self-awareness and self-regulation (or self-management). With self-awareness “switched on” (re: our emotions, our triggers, what inspires us, what maddens us), we can succeed in disciplines where others are failing. Self-awareness has little value without self-regulation. The difference self-regulation makes can be seen as “professionalism” (maturity vs. impulsiveness, especially in our communication). Ambitiously asking oneself, “What is my internal state?” is a bold and valuable question to ask often. With “humbitious courage,” giving others we trust permission to “check our temperature” is another great way to improve at the game of self-awareness.

Good at THE GAME (of Business)

  • Humble: Being good at the disciplines of business is similar to the game of golf. The game of business (in golf) is a suite of skills in several areas that make up 6-8 disciplines where good business people thrive and others don’t. Like golf, letting your “business” scorecard declare where you stand in those disciplines (versus talking them up) is generally the best way to go. Having skills, disciplines and knowledge in your toolbelt (or golf bag if we are sticking with that analogy) is a great way to surprise those you work with and/or for at your facility.
  • Ambitious: Like the game and getting better at it, being good at the “game of business” requires intentionality, it requires study and investment and it requires practice and flexibility. And like the game of golf, those who are good at analysis, recognizing trends, taking advantage of good buys/good opportunities, etc. hone their skills and build on them. They have good sources where they find good information (for benchmarking, for testing of concepts) and for great ideas that can be adapted and used at their facility.

Good WITH People and THE GAME (of Organizational Awareness)

  • Humble: We need to build on the concepts of self-awareness and self-regulation to start with this one. Without them, being good at “the game” of organizational awareness is simply not possible. Without humility, organizational awareness is not really possible either. Focused on ourselves, how can we get a good read on others’ actions, words and non-verbals? How can we get a good read on how they’re doing, or how they’re feeling?
  • Ambitious: Continuing with the theme of getting better at the game of golf, ambition will fuel the desire to get better at organizational awareness. Of course, it is mutually beneficial for someone to be good at this discipline and good for the team or organization as a whole. Here’s how. With organizational awareness and knowledge, one can observe and intentionally act to “balance out the collective dynamics of the organization” (the group, the team) based on the given day, time and/or circumstances. As a result, this balance will often improve, stabilize or inspire the organization. As with self-awareness, we can restate the concept for organizational awareness. With “humbitious awareness” (and a servant’s heart), any team member or any leader can be the person on the team who brings the right blend of energy, inspiration, motivation and calmness to the team.

Building BlocksAs we wrap up this Building Blocks of a Career Series, I sincerely hope that there’s been something in each of the nine building blocks that has been valuable for you. As the series ends, let’s ask ourselves these questions:

  1. Are you still passionate about what you’re doing? Are you still inspired by the purpose you have in your career?
  2. Are you aware of how your experiences are helping you succeed in how you respond to challenges? (Are some of them holding you back?)
  3. Do you still have the right mix of mentors at this point in your career? (Do you need to find some better ones, or maybe “fire” the wrong ones?)
  4. How is the status of your network? Is it stagnant? Are you actively and authentically building relationships every day?
  5. How is the average score of your daily interview looking? (Don’t forget that you’re always interviewing.)
  6. How receptive have you been of late (to constructive feedback, to charity, to commendations)?
  7. Based on each of the first six blocks of “career builders,” are you becoming more influential and more valued at your facility and within your community?
  8. How strong is the beat of your “servant’s heart?”
  9. How is the blend of your ambition and humility (your humbition) doing these days?

Thank you again for the opportunity to develop and share my takes on each of these building blocks in succession. Let me know if I can assist you with your career, or if you want to share with me some of the answers you have come to above. As it’s been said, you’ve only got one career, so make the most of it.

Monte Koch, PGA Certified Professional/Player Development | Career Consultant
PGA Career Services | PGA of America
Serving PGA professionals, employers in the Pacific NW & Rocky Mountain PGA Sections

Email: Mkoch@pgahq.com Cell: 206/335-5260

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