---
title: Introducing Humble Governance
description: Humble Governance is the practice of governing together through humility, curiosity, and listening and taking collective responsibility to care for the whole organization.
image: https://www.acausegreater.org/hubfs/A%20Greater%20Cause%20Blog%20Header%20(GT)%20(1).png
---

[Skip to main content](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/introducing-humble-governance#main-content)

[![A Cause Greater Logo\_Full Color](https://www.acausegreater.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo/A%20Cause%20Greater%20Logo_Full%20Color.png?width=150&height=97&name=A%20Cause%20Greater%20Logo_Full%20Color.png) ![A Cause Greater Logo\_Full Color](https://www.acausegreater.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo/A%20Cause%20Greater%20Logo_Full%20Color.png?width=150&height=97&name=A%20Cause%20Greater%20Logo_Full%20Color.png)](https://www.acausegreater.org)

- [What I Do](https://www.acausegreater.org/what-i-do)
- [Humble Governance](https://www.acausegreater.org/humble-governance)
- [My Blog](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog)

Open main navigation

Close main navigation

- [What I Do](https://www.acausegreater.org/what-i-do)
- [Humble Governance](https://www.acausegreater.org/humble-governance)
- [My Blog](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog)
- [GET IN TOUCH](https://www.acausegreater.org/contact)

[GET IN TOUCH](https://www.acausegreater.org/contact)

# Introducing Humble Governance

![Lon Swartzentruber](https://www.acausegreater.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Lon%20L_%20Swartzentruber%20Headshot%20(300x300)-Jun-12-2026-12-58-18-2566-PM.png?width=120&height=120&name=Lon%20L_%20Swartzentruber%20Headshot%20(300x300)-Jun-12-2026-12-58-18-2566-PM.png)

 by [Lon Swartzentruber](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/author/lon-swartzentruber)

Oct 6, 2026, 8:30:01 AM

An organization’s leadership, no matter their title or role (board of directors, board of trustees, CEO, president, etc.) have a unique opportunity to impact our world in positive and profound ways. How they show up and work together matters and has great influence on what happens both inside and outside of the boardroom.

*Humble Governance* offers a way of working together, what we are calling ***healthy behaviors***, that support leaders in developing highly functioning and effective relationships with each other. The use of these behaviors also provides leaders with the opportunity to learn and evolve their organization’s culture towards a vibrant and robust future.

We define **Humble Governance as the practice of governing together through a dedication to building open, trusting, and resilient relationships and taking collective responsibility to care for the whole.**

In the coming months, we will unpack each of these healthy behaviors and the concepts surrounding Humble Governance so that you can begin to apply them in your context. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to [me](https://www.acausegreater.org/) or my co-author [Peter A. Schein](https://www.scheinocli.org/).

In today’s posting we introduce the Humble Governance Mindset. At the very core of the Humble Governance are three interwoven human skills: humility, listening and curiosity.

 

 

![](https://www.acausegreater.org/hs-fs/hubfs/undefined.jpeg?width=176&height=159&name=undefined.jpeg)

 

We offer the **Humble Governance Mindset** for your use in caring for the whole of your organization and define these skills in the following way:

**Humility** is recognizing and respecting other people as on par or ahead of yourself. To be humble is to intentionally focus your efforts on serving other people, no less than you serve yourself.

**Listening** is actively attending to what someone else is saying to you. Being present in the moment to comprehensively understand the content and context of what is being shared with you.

**Curiosity** is the human desire to know and learn something, driving exploration, discovery, and innovation.

Humility, listening, and curiosity are skills we don’t often see in today’s world, let alone from leaders. Let’s change that!

For more than a generation, Edgar H. Schein has written widely on the concepts of humility, listening, and curiosity and their application to helping, human relationship, and inquiry. He and his son Peter A. Schein, have drawn our attention to humility, listening, and curiosity in their books on Helping, Humble Inquiry, Humble Leadership, as well as their books on organizational culture, to name a few.

We have chosen to use the term *Humble Governance* to integrate humble leadership principles with pragmatic, humanistic, and future-ready governance. As we know, boards have incredible power, authority, and responsibility. We believe that what truly matters is how they exercise this power, authority, and responsibility. We believe that the effective use of these three human skills and the six healthy Humble Governance behaviors will define them as a *Humble Board*. (More on these six healthy behaviors soon, [here is a sneak peek](https://www.acausegreater.org/humble-governance).)

The human skills of humility, listening, and curiosity remind me of a recent experience in a board room. This past spring, a board and leadership team were gathering to discuss the behaviors they display to each other that are not helpful to them in developing an open and connected relationship with each other. A very difficult topic to discuss openly.

On the day’s agenda they were reviewing the results of several focus groups and how their unhelpful behaviors were negatively impacting their direct reports and others in the organization. After sharing the results of the focus groups, one board member turned towards me and asked, ‘When are we going to talk about the ways in which we ARE working together well?’

I wasn’t exactly sure what to say or do. His comment seemed to lack the needed humility, curiosity, and listening to fully embrace what was being learned by the board and leadership team. Recognizing the difficulty of the topic, I turned towards him and said, ‘Yes, this is hard. Bear with me now, if you could stay with what you are learning a moment longer, what might be one reason why others are having trouble with leadership’s behavior?

He paused for a few moments, took a deep breath and answered, ‘I'd imagine that they are looking to us to set a standard of behavior. When we disagree and don't repair relationships with each other, it might send a signal to them that this type of behavior is OK.'

EUREKA!

After his statement, other board members began adding their answers. So much so, that we ended up with two large poster board pages full of answers! All of which was helpful to the board in painting a fuller picture of their environment.

The human skills of humility, curiosity, and listening, which we hone over a lifetime, form the basis of Humble Governance.

In the coming months, we will take a deep dive into the six healthy behaviors that make up the Humble Governance framework.

If you are interested in learning more, I recently presented on Humble Governance to an international association of retreat centers. Here is their [published article](https://www.retreatcentercollaboration.org/blog/beyond-roberts-rules-building-humble-boards-that-transform-governance) that I thought did a good job of reviewing the key concepts.

If you would like Peter or I to present to your board on Humble Governance, please let us know. We’d be honored to share with you more about a new and better way of governing your organization.

Mind how you go,

![Lon Signature\_Cropped](https://www.acausegreater.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Lon%20Signature_Cropped-Jun-12-2026-12-56-43-8912-PM.png?width=78&height=83&name=Lon%20Signature_Cropped-Jun-12-2026-12-56-43-8912-PM.png)

 

**Tags:** 

[Listening,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/listening) [Helping,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/helping) [Learning,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/learning) [Process Consultant,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/process-consultant) [Humble Inquiry,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/humble-inquiry) [Executive Advising,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/executive-advising) [Leadership Development,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/leadership-development) [Advancement,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/advancement) [Culture Change Leadership,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/culture-change-leadership) [Humble Leadership,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/humble-leadership) [Coaching,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/coaching) [Fundraising,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/fundraising) [creativity,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/creativity) [humble governance,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/humble-governance) [humble,](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/humble) [governance](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/governance)

![Lon Swartzentruber](https://www.acausegreater.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Lon%20L_%20Swartzentruber%20Headshot%20(300x300)-Jun-12-2026-12-58-18-2566-PM.png?width=120&height=120&name=Lon%20L_%20Swartzentruber%20Headshot%20(300x300)-Jun-12-2026-12-58-18-2566-PM.png)

Post by [Lon Swartzentruber](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/author/lon-swartzentruber)  
 Oct 6, 2026, 8:30:01 AM

 Lon Swartzentruber has spent more than four decades walking alongside leaders, organizations, and communities as they navigate change, strengthen culture, and shape the future they hope to create. Through thoughtful questions, meaningful conversations, and a deep belief in the potential of people, Lon helps leaders gain clarity, build alignment, and create organizations where people flourish.

### Related Articles

##### [![Still waters and deep wells](https://www.acausegreater.org/hs-fs/hubfs/2.png?width=520&height=294&name=2.png) Listening • Sep 2, 2026, 8:30:01 AM Still waters and deep wells 2 min read](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/still-waters-and-deep-wells)

##### [![I know how to use this now](https://www.acausegreater.org/hs-fs/hubfs/A%20Greater%20Cause%20Header%20(3).png?width=520&height=294&name=A%20Greater%20Cause%20Header%20(3).png) Listening • Jul 28, 2026, 9:00:01 AM I know how to use this now 3 min read](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/i-know-how-to-use-this-now)

## What are your thoughts?

![A Cause Greater Logo\_Full Color](https://www.acausegreater.org/hubfs/Logo/A%20Cause%20Greater%20Logo_Full%20Color.png)

##### Subscribe to the A Cause Greater Blog!

### Reflections for the Journey

The future is shaped by the conversations we have, the choices we make, and the people we invite along the way. Subscribe to receive thoughtful reflections on leadership, culture, and creating organizations where people flourish.

###### Categories

- [Culture Change Leadership](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/culture-change-leadership)
- [Executive Advising](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/executive-advising)
- [Helping](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/helping)
- [Humble Inquiry](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/humble-inquiry)
- [Humble Leadership](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/tag/humble-leadership)

###### Recent Posts

- [Still waters and deep wells](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/still-waters-and-deep-wells)
- [I know how to use this now](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/i-know-how-to-use-this-now)
- [Order Disorder Reorder](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/order-disorder-reorder)
- [What are the qualities of leadership needed in our world today?](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/what-are-the-qualities-of-leadership-needed-in-our-world-today)

[![A Cause Greater Logo\_Full Color](https://www.acausegreater.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo/A%20Cause%20Greater%20Logo_Full%20Color.png?width=150&height=105&name=A%20Cause%20Greater%20Logo_Full%20Color.png)](https://www.acausegreater.org)

- [What I Do](https://www.acausegreater.org/what-i-do)
- [My Blog](https://www.acausegreater.org/blog)
- [Get in Touch](https://www.acausegreater.org/contact)
- [Connect on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/lonswartz/)

*Walking alongside organizations and their leaders helping them transform for a vibrant future.*

 

**Lon L. Swartzentruber**

***Powered by Meadowbrook Consulting, LLC.***

©2026 A Cause Greater. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy](https://www.acausegreater.org/privacy-policy)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Lon Swartzentruber",
    "url" : "https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/author/lon-swartzentruber"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-10-06T12:30:01.279Z",
  "datePublished" : "2026-10-06T12:30:01.000Z",
  "headline" : "Introducing Humble Governance",
  "image" : [ "https://www.acausegreater.org/hubfs/A%20Greater%20Cause%20Blog%20Header%20(GT)%20(1).png" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://www.acausegreater.org/blog/introducing-humble-governance",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://www.acausegreater.org/hubfs/Logo/A%20Cause%20Greater%20Logo_Full%20Color.png"
    },
    "name" : "A Cause Greater"
  }
}
```