Leading with Humble Availability

Seeing value in and being available for the people around us is critical; not just in a leadership role, but in every aspect of our lives. But just clearing time on our calendar may not be enough to earn trust and get the most possible value from diverse contributions, especially if we don’t display a spirit of humility about the availability we offer. As I’ve stated repeatedly, some of the best leaders I’ve had the chance to interact with directly have also been the most humble and the most generous with their time and input. Terry Ward, Kevin Arnold, Rod Little, Chris Rollins, Jorge Velasco, and Mark Cole are just a few of the ones who have intentionally sown into my leadership journey. They each saw worth in (as well as the many others they’ve mentored) and have been selflessly available to me over the years.

Before detailing how much impact that’s made in my life, let’s consider the other side of the coin. Have you ever had time with someone, only to feel expected to wear it like a badge of honor? In some organizational hierarchies, the folks sitting in the big chairs make the people around them jump through hoops to “earn” their time. They boast about how much their minions should appreciate being able to pick up the slightest scraps from around their proverbial tables. Even if those “scraps” are useful, how likely is it that the oh-so-fortunate soul getting such access feels any real value when any time they get is then held over their head - almost like they never really deserved it to begin with?

While you may not have seen examples quite that blatant, and I certainly hope you haven’t experienced anything like that personally, you get the picture. Any availability offered in that manner clearly isn’t done based on the value those folks see in the people around, and I’m not about to refer to that as “leading.”

With that example of what we should be working to avoid at all cost fresh in mind, think about the people you’ve experienced who do lead with humble availability. Each of the men I just listed have done exactly that for me. Be it Terry for close to three decades, Mark on occasion since 2015, or Jorge over the last five years or so, they’ve never made me feel like I was anything less than deserving. Not only did their accessibility provide me with insight I may have never had otherwise, their humility allowed me to believe I was capable of successfully implementing any idea they offered.

I’ve never met anyone in a role with responsibility for leading a team of any size who didn’t have far more to do than they had time to accomplish it. Humble availability fosters deep connections, even when that availability is tough to offer. Holding it over someone’s head, telling them how great we are and how much they should respect or appreciate even the smallest block of time we provide them, does anything but build a stronger connection. Someone taking that approach may have positional authority, but they’re certainly not leading. But when we genuinely see people’s worth, leading with humbly availability is just part of what we do - regardless of how full our schedule is on any given day. When that’s truly part of who we are, so is investing in others’ growth. We’ll look more at that next. For now, think about how you can offer support to a colleague - humbly!