Leadership literature often glorifies humility, portraying it as the cornerstone of effective leadership. While humility is valuable, excessive modesty can undermine authority, slow decision-making, and dilute accountability—especially in today’s hypercompetitive environment. Research supports this: a study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that while humble leaders foster positive relationships, those relationships only lead to higher performance when paired with assertiveness and accountability (Owens & Hekman, 2012).