You can’t have one without the other. High personal performance and humility are also two things that always go together. Without humility you will view constructive feedback as a personal attack.  Without constructive feedback, accepted with humility, you will only see things through your own eyes.  With this limited view your world will become smaller and smaller.

Are you headed in the direction of a character-based humility? Are you able to really hear others point of view?  When you feel your ears turning red and your cheeks becoming flushed because a comment has hit you hard, try this:

Count to five… slowly.  Then, replace defensiveness with curiosity. Even if your accuser it is unjust and off the mark you will learn more and grow as a leader if you can find even the smallest nugget of truth in their comments.

The cascading effect from this simple act of humility with curiosity can start healthy high performance for your team.  If you’re like me… you’ll have at least one chance to try this at work or at home today!