Humility Is the New Smart

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Humility: The Gateway to Human Excellence in the SMA

When you think of humility, what immediately comes to mind? Mother Teresa serving the poor and sick? Jesus washing the feet of his disciples? The Dalai Lama meditating in his monk robes? That’s pretty typical. Certainly, humility as a concept has strong religious resonance. When we think of humility, most of us consider people who are very spiritual or devout or who have altruistically dedicated their entire lives to serving others. Most of us don’t immediately think of hedge fund managers or the heads of global corporations.

Humility is rarely associated with intellectual aptitude or professional success in Western societies, especially in the United States. That’s because synonyms for ...