Have you ever wished that you could give a colleague some wise feedback that would help him or her in their career, a project, or some aspect of their responsibilities? But you couldn’t because you recognized that they weren’t receptive to it, or they would have difficulty understanding it. You recognized that their perception or beliefs about what they were doing were so strong or deeply rooted, that it would be difficult for them to see any other point of view. You may have even recognized that this could develop into a serious professional derailer for the person. Maybe you carefully planned a moment in time to have the conversation, only for the person to rebuff your remarks and try to make YOU think that you were foolish.
As much as you wanted to help the other person, to help them see the folly of their ways, you knew that you had to wait until they WANTED to listen to you. You had to wait until they fell and got bruised and tried to figure out what happened and why… then maybe, just maybe you’ll be able to help them recognize how their own behavior or decisions contributed to their situation.
Realistically, none of us are completely wise or completely foolish. There are simply areas in our lives where we exhibit more or less wisdom (sometime a lot more or a lot less). The goal is to increase the areas where wisdom shines through; to seek the counsel of other people who are wise; to be able to recognize the difference between wise and foolish behavior.
This is even more important for leaders, because their wise or foolish decisions impact not only themselves but others around them. A CEO who makes an irrational or foolish product decision can drive the company’s stock downward effecting investors and employees. A CFO who foolishly covers up material financial information similarly damages the corporate reputation and subjects the firm to negative sanctions. The greater your responsibility, the greater your need for wisdom. The greater your wisdom, the greater responsibility will come to you.
So pursue wisdom with all your heart, mind and strength.
Faith Centered Leadership Words of Wisdom
Wise leaders know that they don’t know everything. Foolish leaders think that they do know everything.
Wise leaders don’t need to tell others how vast their wisdom is. Foolish leaders need to boast about the wisdom they think they have.
Wise leaders seek more understanding to make good decisions. Foolish leaders settle for little understanding to make poor decisions.
Wise leaders consider the source of information before acting on it. Foolish leaders run with information before checking its veracity.
Wise leaders aren’t afraid to stand alone. Foolish leaders generally stand with the crowd.
Wise leaders do what is right, even if others think it’s wrong. Foolish leaders do what is wrong, because others think it’s right.
Wise leaders anticipate the future consequences of their present decisions. Foolish leaders live in the present and ignore the future.
Wise leaders value the good in others. Foolish leaders mock the good in others.
Wise leaders are rarely wise 100% of the time, but they recognize and learn from their moments of foolishness. Foolish leaders are not as wise as they think they are but they seldom recognize all the foolish moments they have.
Wise leaders freely share their wisdom with others, because they recognize that the collective wisdom of a group will improve the entire team. Foolish leaders guard their moments of wisdom closely, as if by sharing it they will lose it.
Copyright 2012 Priscilla Archangel