Insights from Head of Coaching

While the article below refers to leaders, its message applies to all of us, even ambitious international students like you. Many individuals, especially men, have been raised to always appear confident and knowledgeable, even when they would prefer to ask questions and/or simply learn more about something before sharing opinions or advising others.

The good news is that this perspective is slowly changing. It is becoming much more acceptable to demonstrate a learning mindset, which affords the opportunity to obtain information that could help a person to make better decisions. Yet, to do so requires a measure of vulnerability – What will someone think of me if I pose this question?

Clearly, there’s a balance required between appearing strong and displaying curiosity, highlighted in this piece by a term that the writer ( a London Business School Professor) calls “confident vulnerability.” Within this article, he also mentions a related concept, that of “moral humility,” while citing research that includes a study done in China.

These are concepts worth considering, and discussing in coaching sessions, for ambitious international students like you who are seeking to not only become global business leaders but also to assume other leadership roles on their way to such positions.