STRONGER TOGETHER: Cultivating the Quiet Strength of Humility

"STRONGER TOGETHER" is a weekly column where Tanya explores key issues. This week Tanya discusses the quiet strength of humility, reflecting on how grounded self-awareness, gratitude, and a focus on others can cultivate deeper connection, leadership, and lasting impact in a world often driven by ego and achievement.

By IMPACT Community Services Managing Director Tanya O'Shea

On a recent walk through my local neighbourhood, I watched an older man quietly tending to a patch of soil. He wasn’t in a rush. He wasn’t trying to impress anyone. He simply worked – pulling weeds, turning the earth, watering with care.

There was something grounding about it. Something deeply human.

It brought to mind Gandhi’s words: “To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves.”

In a world that often celebrates speed, status, and self-promotion, this image (and this quote) remind us of something quieter but no less powerful: humility.

As Ryan Niemiec and Robert McGrath write in The Power of Character Strengths, humility is “a clear and accurate view of oneself, including both strengths and limitations, and a focus on others rather than the self.”

It’s not about shrinking back. It’s about being grounded, like that gardener, and shifting our attention from ego to connection.

In high-achievement cultures, humility can fade into the background. But ironically, those most secure in themselves often feel the least need to self-promote. They let their work speak, and they lift others as they rise.

Humility strengthens relationships. It invites listening, openness, and trust – qualities essential in leadership, teamwork, and community.

So how do we stay humble as success builds? Here's a few ways:

• Express Gratitude: Acknowledge the people and circumstances that support your journey.
• Listen Deeply: Make others feel heard and valued.
• Recognise Limits: Be open to feedback and growth.
• Celebrate Others: Share the spotlight and uplift other people around you.
• Stay Curious: Approach life with a learner’s mindset, for example asking yourself "What perspective am I missing that this person could bring?"

Humility doesn’t mean lacking ambition. It means striving with integrity, staying grounded, and remembering that success is not just what we achieve.

Like tending a garden, it’s the quiet, consistent care we offer to our work, our values, and each other, that allows something meaningful to grow. And in that, humility offers not just quiet strength, but lasting greatness.