Brian Montenegro
ID 2050
Class 4 Assignment
It is hard for some people to admit that they do not know something because of their fear
that it will make them appear incompetent. People think that their lack of knowledge deems them
less capable of being a leader which plays right into implicit leadership theory. Picture a
stereotypical effective leader, what attributes makes this leader effective? According to Mayer,
when we think of an effective leader we think of someone who has the right answers. When
people know that they are being judged, they make sure to display in full their intelligence and
are much more likely to not admit something they do not know. Porter expresses this
phenomenon as intellectual humility. Those who are able to admit that they do not know
something are the true effective leaders, this is something Mayer also holds to be true. It is good
for researchers to display this intellectual humility first and foremost because it is the truth.
Being honest and humble in research will go a long way in directing where research should be
done. If someone were to answer regardless of the fact that they do not know, people will trust
their response and data and can entirely change the course of the research. Research has to do
with the things people do not know.
Discussion Question:
What should be done with researchers and their research who are “faking it until making it”?