Written on December 4th, 2006 at 12:12 pm by Darren Rowse
The Humble Blogger
Slacker Manager has a great post today on The Honor of Humility which I think is well worth reading for bloggers.
I’m not sure whether blogging attracts big egos or creates them - but most bloggers that I know struggle with it at some time or another (or at least should). I’m as guilty of it as the next person and have had a few times over the last few years where I’ve needed learnt a lesson or two in this area.
I like Brendon’s approach to humility because as he says it’s often equated as being weak:
“Humility has historically gotten a bad rap. A lot of folks seem to equate humility with being a pushover. Far from it (for example, Gandhi was humble and physically small, but he was no pushover). From my management-oriented point of view, humility is simply our ability to see that we can’t do much on our own. For example, I know that any credit given to me is really a reflection of the willingness of my staff to take action. Generally speaking, my role in our sucesses is relatively small. If we fail, though, I’ll assume more “credit.””
As bloggers we often go on about collaboration and the wisdom of the crowd but then quite often go on to act alone and write as though we have a monopoly on truth.
7 Responses to “The Humble Blogger”
Kris Karkoski
December 4th, 2006 12:37 pm
So true, It is hard to not let your ego get in the way of at least some aspects of your blogging. I think we need to act on our own and recognize our own mistakes and accidents but look back on them with a sense of humor.
I think as long as you stay true to yourself you won’t find yourself in huge trouble surrounding your ego clashing with others.
Luke Meshios
December 4th, 2006 1:10 pm
Your ego can only be as big as your page views..
Article in 27 Blogs
December 4th, 2006 1:13 pm
Humility,
There’s nothing tastier than humble pie in my opinion. We all need a good belly full of it. A humble person is not a weak person at all. A humble person is stronger than any other type of person because it takes the greatest strength to subject yourself to another authority, no matter how stupid you think they are.
Col :)
engtech
December 4th, 2006 4:03 pm
There’s nothing that puts your arrogance in check like remembering that whatever rant your writing will most likely reach the person/team/company it’s about.
I’ve had that happen to me at least 5-6 times, and it always deflates my sails.
Sometimes you rant for the sake of ranting, and say things you wouldn’t actually say to their face or send them directly in an email.
Diddy1
December 4th, 2006 8:41 pm
I think people in general should be more humble towards life. Those with a true self-esteem now how to truly respect and appreciate the fact that no one can go through life on their own.
Thank you
Valeria Maltoni
December 5th, 2006 4:25 am
I say be confident enough to be humble. If you believe in yourself and what you’re doing, you will not need too much external validation to feel good. Success is not perfection.
The other side of this is holding yourself accountable for what goes on under your watch, as Brendon shares. Jim Collins has a whole chapter in his “Good To Great” about the Level 5 Leader who will give credit to his team when everything goes well and will look in the mirror when things don’t go so well.
The point is it’s in our power to choose how we relate and this is a very connective tool.
Tim Clague
December 5th, 2006 11:44 pm
There is a whole article on this on changethis.com
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