“Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” — C.S. Lewis

Organizations spend significant time discussing skills, certifications, experience, and performance. These things absolutely matter, but they are not always the best predictors of long-term success. Some of the most technically gifted people struggle to work effectively with others, while some individuals with average talent consistently elevate every team they join.

Why? The answer often comes down to virtues.

Merriam-Webster defines virtues as commendable qualities or traits. We’ve all experienced people with strong virtues, and we’ve all encountered those who seem to have very few. Being around people with strong virtues is uplifting. They make teams stronger, cultures healthier, and organizations more effective. Conversely, people with poor virtues can drain energy, create conflict, and weaken team performance.

This reality makes one thing clear: building a great organization requires more than hiring talented people. It requires identifying and developing the right virtues.

Leadership authorPatrick Lencionipopularized the virtues of being humble, hungry, and smartin his bestselling book The Ideal Team Player. Lencioni argues that these three qualities are essential for building strong teams and healthy organizational cultures. While technical skills and certifications can be taught, these virtues often determine whether a person strengthens the people around them or creates unnecessary friction within the team.

Character Shapes Culture

Culture is ultimately the collective behavior of the people within an organization. Every interaction, decision, and conversation either strengthens or weakens that culture.

Leaders often focus heavily on competencies when making hiring and promotion decisions. Competence is important, but competence without character can be dangerous. A highly skilled individual who lacks the right virtues can create significant damage despite producing strong individual results.

Strong cultures are built by strong relationships, and strong relationships are built upon trust, character, and virtue.  In the process of building culture the virtues humble, hungry, and smart stand out because of their ability to shape both individual and organizational success.  Individually, each virtue matters, but together, they create a powerful foundation for leadership and team performance.

Humble: Putting the Team Before Yourself

Humility is often misunderstood.  Many people believe humility means downplaying strengths or pretending not to be good at something. That’s not humility at all.  True humility means understanding your strengths while refusing to let those strengths become the center of attention.

Humble leaders don’t need every victory to be about them. They are comfortable celebrating the success of others and allowing teammates to receive credit. They focus less on personal recognition and more on team achievement.  The strongest leaders recognize that success is rarely a solo accomplishment. They understand that leadership is about elevating others, not elevating themselves.

Humility creates trust because people naturally gravitate toward leaders who serve rather than seek the spotlight.  This servant-minded approach is explored further in Turtle On The Fence Post which reminds leaders that success is rarely achieved alone. The most effective leaders recognize the contributions of others and understand that leadership is not about elevating themselves, but about lifting others up.

Hungry: Driven With Purpose

Being hungry means being self-motivated.  It means possessing the internal drive to grow, improve, and pursue excellence.  However, motivation alone is not enough.  The critical question becomes: What are you hungry for?  Individuals driven only by personal gain often create disruption within teams. They achieve results, but they leave a path of carnage behind. Ambition without humility can become destructive.

Truly effective leaders are motivated not only by personal success but by the success of the people around them. Their drive extends beyond themselves and contributes to the growth of the organization.

A hungry leader sees challenges as opportunities and refuses to settle for mediocrity.  This growth mindset demonstrates an understanding that meaningful development requires intentional effort and a willingness to embrace challenges.

Smart: More Than Intelligence

Of the three virtues, this one is often the most misunderstood.  Being smart is not primarily about IQ, education, or technical expertise.  Smart leaders possess emotional intelligence.  They understand how their actions, words, and behaviors impact those around them. They can read situations, navigate relationships, and adapt their communication to serve the needs of others.

Many highly intelligent people struggle in leadership because they fail to recognize the emotional wake they leave behind.  Technical intelligence helps leaders solve technical problems, but emotional intelligence helps leaders solve people problems.  The most effective leaders develop both.

Emotional intelligence also plays a critical role in helping leaders understand and connect with the people around them. In Relationships Matter the importance of intentionally investing in relationships is highlighted as a foundational component of trust, culture, and leadership effectiveness. Leaders who understand people create stronger teams than leaders who simply manage tasks.

Why This Matters for Leaders

Research consistently shows that leadership success depends heavily on emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and relationship skills.

According to Harvard Business School’s Trust: The Foundation of Leadership, employees are more likely to thrive when leaders demonstrate authenticity, empathy, and strong interpersonal skills. High-trust organizations experience stronger collaboration, increased engagement, and better outcomes than organizations where trust is lacking.

These findings reinforce an important reality: leadership is not simply about knowledge or authority. It is about character.  Leaders who are humble, hungry, and smart earn trust, inspire progress, and create strong relationships.  Organizations need all three.

The Three-Legged Stool

Imagine a three-legged stool and each leg represents one of these virtues.

• Remove humility, and ambition becomes self-serving.
• Remove hunger, and talent becomes complacent.
• Remove emotional intelligence, and relationships suffer.

A stool with only two legs won’t stand, regardless of how strong those two legs may be.  Leadership works the same way because success requires balance.  The most effective leaders cultivate all three virtues together because they recognize that leadership is not about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about becoming the kind of person others trust, respect, and want to follow.

A Leadership Challenge

My encouragement is simple: conduct an honest self-evaluation by asking yourself:

• Am I humble enough to put the team before myself?
• Am I hungry enough to continue growing?
• Am I smart enough to understand how I impact others?

The answers may reveal where growth is needed.  Living with these three virtues will not only strengthen your leadership, it will strengthen every relationship, every team, and every organization you are privileged to serve.