Contradictions in Productivity - Part 2

Part 2: Pride vs Humility
 
Should we take pride in ourselves and our work or be humble? Is it possible to be both? I say yes, and that we should seamlessly shift from one position to the next.  Pride without humility makes one deaf to imported ideas and creates an offensive person to work with.  Humility without pride is self-deprecating; it closes doors before they open and prevents your work from being taken seriously. I believe that it is necessary to be both humble and proud, but the right approach must be used in the right situation.

Have you ever seen someone present their work and in the same breath apologize for its quality?
Examples include:

• Presenting technical information and saying something like "sorry about the small font on this chart" or "sorry about the resolution of this image".
• Playing a musical recording to your friend and pointing out the mistakes in the performance as they occur.
• Asking a colleague to read your draft article and saying "there are probably a bunch of typos" or "this is a real rough version".
• Sharing some art with a potential client and throwing in comments like "I'm not so sure about this part" or "the colors here didn't turn out the way I wanted" or "this is the best I could do in the time allotted". 
• A speaker stammering over a word and then pointing it out with a nervous chuckle and a phrase like "Gosh!  I just can't talk today".

These types of self-criticism (destructive humility) can distract from your message and color the audience's appreciation of your work. It's better to not call attention to your own imperfections before someone else does.  This undermines your work and highlights flaws that may otherwise go unnoticed.  Communicate that you are proud of what you've done.  The frightening thing is that people may come up with their own opinions and you must always produce to your own standards.

On the other side of the coin, we must be humble. When showing a draft to a colleague, mentor, or client we must be ready to take any constructive suggestions in stride.  It's pointless to try to invalidate someone else's criticism, even though we may not agree with it.  It's far better to validate the opinion of your boss or customer as opposed to making excuses.

Serve with your excellence and present it as such.  Take pride in your work and don't make excuses.  When others criticize your work (lovingly or otherwise) humbly discern what you need to learn in order to become an even more excellent servant.  Humbly pursue new skills and take pride knowing that it will pay off.