In Dr. Adam Grant’s latest book “Think Again” (2021), he explores the psychology behind changing your mind. I can confidently say this was one of my favorite books from 2021.

I was struck with one overwhelming takeaway from his research – the ability to think again comes linked to the practice of humility. 

Why humility? Thinking again requires the examination of why we might be wrong.

There’s long been a rumbling in the leadership world that humility is a key ingredient for a successful leader. It’s been long re-branded under other related terms – “emotionally intelligent”, “self-aware”, even “servant leadership”. 

Humility in the workplace is a topic that can be misperceived as weak. Webster, by the way, isn’t doing us any favors, it literally defines humility as “having a low estimate of one’s importance”. In a world that calls us to be more concerned with confidence, how do I reconcile that with feeling unimportant? 

Yet — humility in the sense of leadership calls one to accept that he or she must consider others.

We as humans aren’t very good at that. Our primal brain instinctually teaches us to be selfish and care first for ourselves. It is built within us. Considering others is fundamentally against our nature.

Note that I said consider others, not let them always win or become a doormat. 

Is humility the newest wave of leadership advice that our world needs now? Or has it always been there, we’ve just been afraid to admit it.

I’m excited to dig into the book “Think Again” by Dr. Adam Grant. 

If you’ve read it, what did you think?