CEO Coaching: Humble Pie, Buffett-Style

I read Warren Buffett’s final Chairman’s Letter to shareholders the morning I wrote this. I’ve written about Buffett and his letters before, but this one hit me differently.

For a guy who may be the most successful investor in modern history, Buffett is remarkably thoughtful—and humble. His annual letters are sprinkled with mea culpas about missed bets, bad luck, and strategic stumbles. It’s like a national batting champ writing a love letter to his strikeouts.Warren Buffett’s final letter reminds us: humility beats bravado.

There are plenty of leadership lessons in Buffett’s letters, but today I’m stuck on the humility part as the contrast between Buffet and current leaders is immense.

In my experience, the most effective leaders—the ones who build killer teams, adapt quickly, deliver solid results, and treat people decently—are also the humblest. Not the blowhards, not the chest-thumpers, not the LinkedIn self-congratulators. Just solid, self-aware humans who know they’re not the smartest person in the room (even if they often are).

Like Buffett, they have good years and bad years, but they win over time. And they never need someone else to lose in order to feel like they’re winning.

Whether you’re running a public company, campaigning for office, or managing a high school, your better angels are your best bet. Channel your inner Warren. Humility scales.

Oh, and in the spirit of full transparency: I owned four shares of Berkshire Hathaway (A shares!) for a few years and sold them back in 1990 because I thought Buffett was getting too old.

Let that be a lesson. In humility.