Do you have humility? Is it related to the power you have?

Humility and power might affect how convincing you are.

Recent research shows that those who are most convincing are those who are women, those less identified with their political party, and those who are humble. 

Link to the research.

This ties in with a quote I saw in a tweet by Daniel Pink, that he says is one of the most highlighted posts in his books. Here is a link to his tweet.

“Power leads others to anchor too heavily to their own vantage point, insufficiently adjusting to other viewpoints.”

I think humility is the counterweight to power.  If you have power, you are probably less humble.  Humility is adopting the belief that you are no better than anyone else.

It’s not surprising to me that women (who generally have less power) are more convincing. Perhaps because they can’t rely on power, and instead must increase their skills at being convincing. People with power expect others to just believe what they say when they say it, those who don’t have power have to work at it.  

How humble are you?  How much do you rely on power to convince others? Do you see yourself as equal to others?  Do you see other people as sources you can learn from? How tied to your political views are you?  What can you do to loosen them? 

If you want to be convincing, you could start trying to see others as people you can learn from and try loosening your ties to your views.