Listening in Second Position

Key points

Humility positively impacts individual well-being, relationships, and leadership effectiveness.

Acknowledging personal fallibility enhances understanding and forgiveness.

Active listening means asking genuine, open-ended questions and suspending the impulse to respond.

Listening in "second position" is a humble habit that increases empathy and respectful dialogue.

Silver second place medal. Source: DS Stories/Pexels/

Since my days in graduate school, I have been obsessed with humility and its positive impact on almost every aspect of life. As a professor, it reminds me that I don’t have all the answers, and that my role is to inspire openness , curiosity, and growth in my students. It keeps me grounded in my mission to enhance virtue and well-being in organizations, he