Leadership is not demanding preferential treatment

Like many around the world, I’ve been fascinated by The Queue.

Of course, I’m referring to the long, long line of people waiting to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II in the days before her State Funeral on Monday.

One of the more interesting people I saw lined up was soccer legend David Beckham.

Beckham joined the queue in the early hours of Friday morning to pay his respects. Given his status (he was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to football from the Queen in 2003), and his celebrity, he could have easily asked for preferential treatment and queue-jumped into the VIP line. Not only did he not request this, when it was offered, he declined.

A sign of great leadership is demonstrating humility.

David Beckham epitomised this last week.

Humility is one of the cornerstones of leadership and is closely linked to self-awareness.

When we are self-aware, we have presence. We understand what we stand for and how our upbringing and personal history created who we are today.

We see ourselves clearly and objectively and this influences our behaviour.

When Beckham was asked why he decided to join the queue to view the Queen’s coffin lying in state, he explained that he wanted to come on behalf of his family. “I grew up in a household of royalists and I was brought up that way, so if my grandparents would have been here today, I know that they would have wanted to be here,” he said.

“I’m here on their behalf and on the behalf of my family and obviously to celebrate with everybody else here. It’s a sad day but it’s a day for us to remember the incredible legacy she’s left.”

What other examples have you seen of leaders not demanding preferential treatment? Whether they are well known or within your organisation.