Success can be dangerous for leaders. When you’ve built something, grown an organization, created jobs, secured major contracts, increased revenue, or become recognized for your work, it’s easy to start believing that your success means you have all the answers.
You don’t.
One of the greatest responsibilities of executive leadership is remaining humble enough to understand that the higher you rise, the more you need people around you who are willing to tell you the truth.
I’ve learned that leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about having enough confidence to surround yourself with people who may know something you don’t.
Success should never disconnect you from the people doing the work.
Walk through your programs. Talk to employees who aren’t executives. Listen to the people you serve. Ask questions. Admit when something isn’t working. And when someone brings you a better idea, give them the space to run with it.
There is also something important executives have to remember: today’s success does not guarantee tomorrow’s relevance.
Organizations change. Industries change. Technology changes. People change. And leaders who stop learning because they have already achieved something eventually become obstacles to the very organizations they helped build.
Humility doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself or minimizing what you’ve accomplished. It means understanding that your accomplishments don’t make you more important than everyone else.
Some of the strongest leaders I’ve encountered can sit at the table with government officials, CEOs, funders, and community leaders—and then walk into a program and speak to the person cleaning the building with the exact same respect.
That matters to me.
Because at the end of the day, titles change. Positions end. Organizations eventually transition to new leadership.
The real measure of executive success is not how important you became. It’s what became stronger because you were there.
Stay confident.
Stay teachable.
Stay close to the people.
And most importantly, stay humble—especially when you’re winning.
— Yusef Andre Wiley
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