#134: Social Signalling, Confident Humility & Fake Virtue

3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on Being Courageous

I. Social Signalling

Any overt behaviour or action we take in front of other people, be it intentional or unintentional, counts as Social Signalling. The words we say, the gestures we make, the newsletters we subscribe to publicly. That said, there’s an important distinction between “cheap talk” and “costly signals”.

Anyone can conjure up a few words about how much they care about, say, blood donations. However, this cheap talk doesn’t tell you about the level of their commitment. Costly (or: honest) signals, on the other hand, are hard to fake. Donating blood every three months and volunteering at the donation centre demonstrates the willingness to make personal sacrifices many other people wouldn’t.

According to writer Rob Henderson “there is nothing wrong with signalling. We evolved to signal to others. We evolved to detect signals from others.” We could not not signal — even if we wanted to. At the same time, only honest signals tell us something meaningful about a person’s character. Given that sending such signals carries an inherent risk, beware of people who put their energy into making cheap signals look costly.

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II. Confident Humility

Confident Humility is a term coined by science author Adam Grant in his book Think Again. It merges two seemingly contradictory attributes.

Confidence and humility are often seen as opposites. But if you reflect on the leaders you admire most, chances are that they embody both of these qualities in tandem. I call it confident humility.

Confident humility is being secure enough in your expertise and strengths to admit your ignorance and weaknesses. In Think Again, I highlighted evidence that confidence without humility breeds blind arrogance, and humility without confidence yields debilitating doubt. Confident humility allows you to believe in yourself while questioning your strategies.

—Adam Grant

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III. Fake Virtue

In his 2018 book Skin in the Game, author and essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb makes the case for courage, honour and sacrifice. He blasts those who shy away from taking risks in what they do; offloading it onto others. As Taleb notes:

Courage is the only virtue that you cannot fake.

—Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Skin in the Game

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Have a great week,

Chris
themindcollection.com