This is the second article in the “Catalytic Leadership” series.
Let’s begin with a story!
One day a scholar visited a hairdresser. The scholar is well-known for his knowledge, pride and arrogance. He would mock anyone anytime he gets an opportunity, showing-off his knowledge and smartness.
On entering the hairdresser’s shop, he inquired, “Hey, how much is it for cutting the hair and how much is it for shaving?”
The hairdresser replied politely, “Cutting is 50 bucks, Shaving would be 25, Sir”
The scholar, while sitting on the hairdresser’s chair, snickered and said “Shave my head then…”
The scholar being a respectable elderly man, the hairdresser ignored that gesture and started his work.
The scholar was disappointed that the hairdresser did not react to his first strike, went on; “You are a hairdresser, but you just cut the hair and don’t dress it. That name doesn’t seem to fit in”
The hairdresser replied, “I don’t simply cut the hair Sir, but I see to it that I cut according to the proportions of the face and ensure that it looks good after I cut the hair. In a sense, I dress the hair to make people look good”
The composed, polite and nice answer made the scholar to simmer and he thought about the next attack.
The scholar asked, “Where do you stitch the clothes for dressing the hair?” and guffawed like anything
The hairdresser laughed saying, “Your talk is very hilarious and funny” and proceeded with his work.
This made the scholar to simmer even more and he wanted to attack more vehemently this time.
The scholar began again, “People come to you with their hair grown good, but you cut them making it into nothing. So, can I call you as ‘good for nothing'”?
This hurt the hairdresser a bit and there was a change in his face reactions, and that was what the scholar wanted.
Without losing his composure, the hairdresser was done with the scholar’s head and he touched the moustache of the scholar and asked – “Sir, do you want the moustache?”
The scholar replied, “Yes, I want the moustache…”
The hairdresser whisked off the moustache in a blink of an eye and said, “You wanted it, here you have it Sir!”
The scholar was shell-shocked to see his dear moustache lying in his hands. He had grown it carefully for years!
After that the hairdresser touched the scholar’s eyebrows and asked, “Do you want your eyebrows Sir?”
The scholar became alert this time and told, “I don’t want my eyebrows…”
Again, the hairdresser whisked off the eyebrows and told, “You said you don’t want your eyebrows… I’ll throw them in the dustbin”
Now that the moustache that he grew for years and the eyebrows that gave him that respectable appearance were gone, his face looked horrible and with tears in his eyes, the scholar paid the hairdresser, put down his head and walked out.
The moral behind the story is: One has to use their knowledge, experience and actions to help someone get better, but not to humiliate and undermine them.
Humility is the core for any leader. It is a trait to be upheld while interacting with people and it should create good experiences helping each other grow.
Catalytic leaders exhibit humility in a natural way that enables people to grow around them.
The moral applies to people at all levels in the organization. It not only applies to individuals but also between organizations big and small.
Hope you liked the article, please share your feedback and also any events of humility you have personally experienced.
Image Credits: Wikipedia – A Pale Blue Dot