Embrace discomfort to develop these four leadership attributes in your students

Today’s complex digital world demands more than knowledge of theory. It requires the courage to act. Educators, particularly those teaching at the postgraduate level, have an opportunity and responsibility to help students not only to excel academically, but to develop essential skills that can only be built through discomfort. That way, we nurture leaders who, instead of freezing in uncertain situations, have the courage and clarity to move forward. Here are four key characteristics that educators can help cultivate to develop the next generation of resilient, bold professionals.

1. Relentless curiosity

Curiosity is not just about asking questions. It is about chasing answers. Curious students dig into how AI reshapes supply chains, how data governance affects ethics and how platforms evolve in real time. Like the best CEOs, they have strong and well-considered points of view, yet are attentive listeners who value diverse perspectives. Curiosity drives exploration, but acting through uncertainty builds leadership skills.

How educators can develop students’ curiosity:

• Have students conduct exploratory interviews with professionals outside their core field. For example, a business student interviews a robotics start-up founder
• Create cross-disciplinary teams to analyse the digital impact of emerging technology across multiple industries
• Pose dilemmas from real-world digital contexts outside students’ comfort zones, such as digital inclusion or surveillance ethics.

2. Realistic thinking

Students who learn to confront ambiguity head-on become more realistic and more comfortable with challenges and iteration. They begin to trust their judgement, even when the path is unclear, and that trust becomes the foundation for decisive leadership in volatile settings.

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In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world, discomfort is not an obstacle. It is a compass. High-achieving students learn to distinguish between emotional discomfort and external complexity. 

How educators can develop students’ realistic thinking:

• Create case studies with conflicting or incomplete data
• Present ambiguous scenarios with real-world consequences
• Lead open discussions on failed strategies or flawed approaches
• Coach students in articulating their thinking when navigating complex situations.

3. Ambition

Results are critical, but they are not enough on their own. True transformation requires a mindset that pushes beyond comfort. Students must not only understand digital tools; they must use them to track progress and improve performance. 

How educators can develop students’ ambition: 

• Structure final projects as two- to three-week agile sprints, each with deadlines, key performance indicators (KPIs) and feedback loops
• Replace long planning phases with prototype cycles and peer critiques
• Celebrate action over polish by using grading rubrics that prioritise delivered outcomes over presentation
• Require teams to track progress against agreed deliverables and reflect on performance via shared dashboards or during reviews.

4. Growth mindset

When students are encouraged to ask “what else?”, they develop the mental resilience to thrive in unpredictable environments. Future leaders must take risks, challenge norms and expect more from themselves and others. They are constantly learning, leaning into tension and are never complacent.

How educators can develop a growth mindset in students:

• Use stretch assignments: tasks that encourage students to take initiative, explore uncertainty and think creatively under pressure. These assignments prioritise growth and ownership over perfection
• Recognise and reward student initiative: celebrate those who pitch new projects or exceed the brief
• Rotate leadership roles in group work to ensure diverse ownership
• Design a rubric that explicitly rewards students for proposing stretch solutions or taking ownership of failure.

As educators, we are not merely transmitters of content. We are architects of environments that shape how students respond to challenges.

If we want to prepare students for a volatile and fast-moving world, we must intentionally integrate the habits of bold leadership into our pedagogy. The future of our graduates will not be defined by content mastery alone, but by their ability to navigate ambiguity, act with purpose and remain agile, no matter how uncomfortable that may feel. This mindset shift, if embraced institutionally, can redefine how postgraduate programmes prepare leadership-ready graduates.

One of my students recently asked during a strategy module: “Professor, what is the real value of being uncomfortable?” My answer: “It is not about being in pain. It is about being in motion.”

José Ignacio Sordo Galarza is an associate professor of digital transformation and data analytics at Monterrey Institute of Technology.

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