“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.”

Benjamin Franklin knew about the power of humility. And now a study set to be published in the Academy of Management Journal aims to prove that humble leaders are more effective and better liked.

Bradley Owens, assistant professor of organization and human resources at the University at Buffalo School of Management , asked 16 CEOs, 20 mid-level leaders and 19 front-line leaders to describe in detail how humble leaders operate in the workplace and how a humble leader behaves differently than a non-humble leader.

"Leaders of all ranks view admitting mistakes, spotlighting follower strengths and modeling teachability as being at the core of humble leadership," said Owens. "And they view these three behaviors as being powerful predictors of their own as well as the organization's growth."

The leaders questioned were from vastly different organizations -- military, manufacturing, health care, financial services, retailing and religious.

Leaders who were young, nonwhite or female were reported as having to constantly prove their competence to followers, making their humble behaviors both more expected and less valued. However, leaders who were experienced white males were reported as reaping large benefits from humbly admitting mistakes, praising followers and trying to learn.

"Growing and learning often involves failure and can be embarrassing," says Owens. "But leaders who can overcome their fears and broadcast their feelings as they work through the messy internal growth process will be viewed more favorably by their followers. They also will legitimize their followers' own growth journeys and will have higher-performing organizations."

A follow-up study that is forthcoming in Organization Science using data from more than 700 employees and 218 leaders confirmed that leader humility is associated with more learning-oriented teams, more engaged employees and lower voluntary employee turnover.