Lessons from a 33-year career at 3M on transformation, trust, and the leaders who get it right
Humility doesn’t come naturally to most leaders as many organizational cultures have rewarded confidence, decisiveness, and authority. Somewhere along the way, we confused humility with weakness.
Chris McLaughlin (adjunct in Â̲èÖ±²¥â€™s School of Business) who spent 33 years at 3M navigating sales, marketing, and international operations across cultures and continents, has a different perspective. Humble leadership, he argues, isn’t about shrinking yourself. It’s about expanding your focus — from yourself to the people around you.
Putting the Followers, and Data, First
Humble leadership begins with a simple reorientation: it’s not about the leader. It’s not arrogance, intimidation, or the “big stick” style of management that might produce short-term compliance but rarely produces lasting change. Instead, it puts emphasis squarely on the people being led.
This matters most when an organization needs to change. People often resist it — sometimes openly, sometimes quietly. McLaughlin’s process for navigating that resistance starts with an analysis of stakeholders, honest and direct communication about the nature of the challenge being faced, and work to address the reasons why individuals may not be on board immediately. The humble leader doesn’t steamroll any of these groups. They meet them where they are and seek to address the whole of the challenge as opposed to making mandates that followers won’t follow.
McLaughlin believes it’s essential that people with power to drive change should spend time with the people most resistant to it. Rather than managing around those that resist change, it’s important to get curious about them. Treat them as equals. Dig into the “why” behind their resistance.
Data also matters a great deal. Transformation without measurement is just motion. What’s the baseline? How will you know things are improving? The data isn’t just about accountability — it’s how you help people see the need for change in the first place, and how you demonstrate that the effort is working.
One practical lesson McLaughlin shares from international business experience is the value of language. Instead of announcing sweeping changes that feel threatening, try calling something a pilot. It’s softer, lower-stakes, and gives people room to engage without feeling like they’re losing something.
Storytelling matters just as much. The stories that circulate inside an organization become its culture. Leaders who want to shift a culture have to be intentional about which stories they’re helping to write — and which ones they’re allowing to calcify into unhelpful myths.
Growing the Leaders Around You
Humble leadership is also about how you develop the people below you. That means trusting others to grow — even when they’re not fully ready, even when the path isn’t clear.
For emerging leaders especially, the advice is clear: jump in. You won’t have all the experience you think you need, and you’ll find most of it on the job anyway. Failure isn’t a setback; it’s the curriculum. Taking chances builds self-confidence and generates the stories that will carry you into the next opportunity.
Leaders that give people room to fail — and to learn — create the conditions where an organization can genuinely thrive.
In a world that keeps confusing confidence with competence, humility turns out to be one of the most powerful tools a leader can carry.
Watch the Full Conversation Here:
Chris McLaughlin shared insights and stories from his work as part of the Reell Insights Series hosted by the Reell Office of Seeing Things Whole at Â̲èÖ±²¥.