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How to Find Yourself, According to Science: Live Abroad
What’s the unsung secret to leadership greatness? According to research recently written up on HBR, the answer isn’t charisma or empathy. It’s self-awareness.
“Research suggests that when we see ourselves clearly, we are more confident and more creative. We make sounder decisions, build stronger relationships, and communicate more effectively. We’re less likely to lie, cheat, and steal. We are better workers who get more promotions. And we’re more-effective leaders with more-satisfied employees and more-profitable companies,” writes researcher and author Tasha Eurich.
With that impressive list of benefits, it’s clear that self-awareness is incredibly valuable. What’s less immediately clear is how to cultivate it. But a team of researchers recently offered one startling suggestion — spend some time abroad.
Another culture is an excellent mirror.
Plenty of thinkers have argued that time abroad increases important skills for business success like comfort with ambiguity, confidence when confronted with the unfamiliar, and accelerated learning, but the team of social scientists out of Rice University, Columbia, and the University of North Carolina behind this study wanted to test the effects of extended travel abroad on self knowledge specifically.
