Once again, thanks to CityA.M. for telling us that the Chairman of HSBC, Stephen Green, said that “the banking industry has not covered itself in glory to say the least, and indeed the industry collectively owes the real world an apology for what has happened”.

Surely this an example of the leadership humility that has been much written about.

As John Baldoni, leadership coach, says: “A sense of humility is essential to leadership because it authenticates a person’s humanity. We humans are frail creatures; we have our faults. Recognizing what we do well, as well as what we do not do so well, is vital to self-awareness and paramount to humility.”

But Stephen Green has probably not just applied recent leadership theory. As a Church of England priest he might well be already imbued with the age-old wisdom  of humility and its benefits.

Stephen Green has more form to back up the authenticity of his remark. As CityA.M. says: “In 2001 and 2002, when Green was head of HSBC’s investment banking and markets operations, he cancelled all bonuses during the slump saying he could not justify them. While bankers protested, Green was later promoted for his bold move.”

We’ve commented before on HSBC’s socially-progressive impact. With a leader like Stephen Green, it seems that the civil aspects of the HSBC brand are indeed authentic. Hopefully this is an inspiration to other aspiring civil brands.