Many think that humility is the least associated quality with leadership. When you think about successful leaders, it is the image of vocal leaders that come to our mind. There is no harm in being vocal about goals, and principles. In fact, over communicating is a key skill that is required to lead a team. But humility by definition does not mean that you have to be meek.
The confusion arises because Humility has different definitions
Webster's College Dictionary defines Humility as
“modest opinion of one's own importance or rank; meekness”
According to Wordnet it is
“a lack of false pride”
The most modern definition is:
“the quality of being modest and respectful”
From a leadership quality point of view, the definition for Humility would be “Respectful to others and a lack of false pride.”
So how can a leader show respect, and not be fooled with false pride?
1) Show Appreciation
An important quality of a leader is to show appreciation in public, and criticize in private. When appreciation is conveyed every week for the sake of it, team members are quick to pick that up. Such action can be counterproductive. Show genuine appreciation and your team members will realize what is important for the team.
2) Don’t Be Serious
False pride comes when you take yourselves seriously and believe in the hierarchy of the team, even outside work. Of course, you have to take your work seriously, but every now and then take time to have fun with your team members. It can be done through team outings, taking them to their favorite bar at the end of each milestone, or talking about things other than work.
3) Confidence vs. Humility
Often, leaders believe that showing humility means showing weakness, but it is far from the truth. You should have confidence in yourself to achieve any goals both individual and for the team. But to be humble about your achievements, and to focus on the next goal is what differentiate a leader from a wannabe leader.
Have you shown humility in your personal and team achievements? If you have then you are a leader, and AdCom will appreciate your attitude. Don’t forget to convey it through the essays.
About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.