Have you ever met someone at an event who you related to instantly? He did not reveal his title or position and seemed to be more interested in what you had to say. Later you found out that this person was the president or owner of a large organization in your community. He had great power and still took the time to relate to you as a human being.
It is rare to find leaders who can put people at ease and are humble with everyone regardless of status. Humble leadership is a great characteristic that is not embraced by those who define their self worth by status and its perks.
For Saladin, the great Sultan from the 12th century, being humble was second nature. Richard the Lion Heart called him the greatest and most powerful leader of the Islamic world. At one point he was the Muslim Sultan of Egypt, Syria (which encompassed a huge region then), Yemen and Palestine. His biggest accomplishment was to retake Jerusalem after eighty eight years of Christian occupation in 1187. Rather than shed the blood of its residents, his troops were courteous and allowed Christians to continue to visit the holy sites.
With all this power, Saladin could have built a wall between himself and the people below him. The castle in the picture above is called Saladin’s Castle and located in Syria. He could have lived in lavish castles like this one and instead preferred modest residences.
His subjects were not afraid to approach him because he put them at ease. One of his soldiers was so at ease that one day he walked into Saladin’s tent not taking into consideration that Saladin was tired and resting. Saladin asked him to leave and come back in an hour. The soldier would not leave and insisted Saladin sign the paper. Rather than ordering him to leave, Saladin got up and took care of his soldier’s needs. Even though I’m not encouraging anyone to behave this way, Saladin showed compassion and humbleness by meeting the needs of his soldier before his own.
The great Ben Franklin sums this whole concept of humble leadership in this quote:
“To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness”
Your Thoughts and Insights
- What do you think of humble leadership? Is it necessary or just a nice to have?
Acknowledgement:
I would like to acknowledge my friend Tridib for suggesting that I write about Saladin. Thanks Tridib!
Photo Credits: A travers
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