A time for intellectual humility
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present."
-Abraham Lincoln
By Steve Fawthrop
This year we are facing a confluence of societal issues:
How do we balance public health vs. managing the economy?
How do we deal with racial inequity and policing—not a new issue—in the wake of the unfair death of George Floyd and others?
How do we find political common ground, in a fractured environment, in order to move forward knowing that the structure of our government and lawmaking requires it?
And, of course, we each have personal issues that we face every day.
An important ability to develop, to be more effective, is intellectual humility. It is the ability to be open to new ideas and to change your mind. Given our natural orientation to self-justify based on our life orientation and developed outlooks, it is often a hard one to cultivate, yet it can be critical for success.
A lack of intellectual humility undermines existing relationships and often precludes developing new ones. It restricts recognizing new opportunities for improvement. It can hinder your professional career and organizations.
So how can you develop intellectual humility?
Warren Berger, author of The Book of Beautiful Questions, recommends four questions to boost intellectual humility:
Do I think more like a soldier or a scout?
Soldiers defend positions and attack. Scouts explore territory for new information and a better understanding.
Would I rather be right or would I rather understand?
Long-term knowledge is more valuable than a short-term victory. This also recalls a point from the seminal book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (1989). Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then be understood.
Do I solicit and seek out opposing views?
Instead of saying “Don’t you agree?”, say “Tell me if you disagree.” or "Tell me what I am missing." and ask the person to explain why.
Do I enjoy the pleasant surprise of discovering I’m mistaken?
Being wrong is not a sign of failure. It is success if you learn something that leads to a change in your position that improves a situation based on a new perspective.
In summary: be curious and explore, understand, seek out opposing views and embrace being wrong to learn. We need it now more than ever.
"When any real progress is made, we unlearn, and learn anew what we thought we knew before."
-Henry David Thoreau
Additional resources for those looking to develop intellectual humility
Daniel Goleman on how to apply emotional intelligence in constructive anger.
Note: The post was inspired by a video blog post by author Dan Pink that was shared by friend Liz Callahan on her Facebook page.
