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Quite often, people expect too much of PhD holders. Having a PhD simply means they know a lot about a very small area (in my case, about how organisations can still perform in dysfunctional environments) and that they are capable of independent research. That’s all. Nothing more.
Having a PhD doesn’t make the holder smarter than anybody else. It doesn’t make the person infallible. It doesn’t make them clairvoyant or a good judge of character. It doesn’t mean their judgment of issues will always be right. But it means they’ll always see shades of grey.
A properly-acquired PhD will ensure that your brain is no longer binary. Your brain will automatically reject the single story that excludes all other possibilities. You will know that any knowledge you have is always incomplete. You will actually realise how little you know.
A good PhD holder will enjoy informed intellectual debate and detest ignorant extremism. They will often be provocative and seek to advance knowledge. Having said that, when I awarded the PhD, I was told “You’ll never need to prove to anybody again that you are smart.” So...🤷🏽♂️😂
