February 2, 2023 (Curiosity: Intellectual Humility)

Intellectual humility has been defined as, "the degree to which people recognize that their beliefs might be wrong" (Leary et al., 2017).

Too often as leaders, we are assuming that we are expected to have the answer AND power can mean we are more likely to think we are right. What a dangerous set of contexts for leaning into leadership moments!

I appreciate the four questions that Warren Berger suggests that we ask ourself to cultivate intellectual humility:

• Do I tend to think more like a solider or a scout? (from Julia Galef)

• Would I rather be right, or would I rather understand? (Oof... hard one to remember in the moment.)

• Do I solicit and seek out opposing views?

• Do I enjoy the "pleasant surprise" of discovering I'm mistaken? (I refer to this as

Curiosity is a leadership habit; it is a habit that circumstances might prevent us from doing well. Today, reflect on:

How can I cultivate intellectual humility?

References

Berger, W. The Book of Beautiful Questions.

Expanding Awareness of the Science of... | GGSC (berkeley.edu)

Galef, J. The Scout Mindset.