Key Takeaways
- Take steps that help you build connections between concepts and ideas.
- Demonstrate the alignment between your goals and the goals of your key stakeholders.
- Think about your own charitable values and goals when creating a giving plan.
We live in a time of tremendous information overload. Data mining gives us a look at a universe of facts like never before, while AI is increasingly enabling us to easily pull in a staggering amount of information and shape it in the blink of an eye.
Information overload isn’t a new situation, of course. But it feels to many that it’s accelerating at a head-spinning pace. For those of us who need to lead and motivate others—be they employees, co-workers, volunteers or perhaps even members of our family—it’s become extremely important (and challenging) to take this information influx and actually use it to help make wise decisions for the group.
Some business leaders and futurists are even claiming that we are shifting from an Information Age/knowledge economy to a “wisdom economy” that emphasizes combining knowledge with traits like empathy to pursue bigger results. An example of a wisdom economy idea is that technology will increasingly be tested on its usefulness as a tool for contributing to overall well-being instead of simply seen as a solution that improves well-being by its very existence.
With that in mind, here are some of what we see as key traits of leaders who show wisdom when weighing options and moving forward toward greater success.
Wisdom and outcomes
Smart leaders are relatively easy to find, in our view. Lots of people have big intellects and can dream up exciting opportunities. But being smart is different from being wise. For one thing, knowledge is merely the facts and ideas we have. Wisdom enables us to take that knowledge, apply it and “bring it to life” in some way. Wise leaders possess traits and experiences that help them excel at passing their knowledge and vision on to others in ways that inspire them to focused action—and often in ways that enable others to build on and improve the wise leader’s initial plans.
The benefits of being wise aren’t new, but they may have become more important than ever in recent years. Increasingly, it seems, leaders are chosen or heralded more for their charisma and brashness than for their ability to actually get results. Big promises, made loudly, often go unkept. Meanwhile, wise leaders are the ones who tend to move the ball down the field—often using strategies that aren’t terribly exciting but are effective.
The upshot:
Wisdom is likely to position you for better outcomes. That means it’s probably a good idea to understand what makes a leader wise—and how you can take steps that may help enhance the amount of wisdom you bring to the table when leading a team.
Traits of leaders who show wisdom
Here are some of the key things we see wise leaders do, consistently and with purpose, to wind up where they want to be—and bring their people along with them.
Trait #1: Wise leaders connect the dots.
A major aspect of wisdom is the ability to examine the various parts of an idea, strategy, initiative, etc., and piece them together to see the whole picture—or at least one that is close to fully formed. This ability can grow stronger with age and experience—we get better at seeing the big picture and processing information as we do it more over our lives. But there are also several action steps that can potentially boost your ability to recognize patterns. For example:
- Engage in math and “brain” games. There’s an ever-growing number of online games that require you to spot connections between words and numbers—some of which can be “leveled up” and become more difficult as you progress. Or stick with classic games that help with pattern recognition, such as chess. Simply attempting to solve math problems can also train your brain.
- Expand your reading horizons. Professionals have a habit of sticking to books, articles and research that focuses on their specific, narrow profession or business. But by delving into topics and subjects that have nothing to do with your present situation, you can discover connections between your world and the world outside of your experience. A classic example is the leadership lessons found in the work of Chinese Taoist Lao-Tzu. But you can potentially find links between virtually any two subjects or disciplines.
- Get outside more. Nature is replete with patterns to spot and examine closely. (It’s good for you, too.)
Trait #2: Wise leaders invite debate and dissent.
Wise leaders understand that while steamrolling those around them can force everyone into alignment, it can also create resentments and a sort of “quiet quitting” that undermines progress.
A better approach is to welcome dissent about ideas and show genuine curiosity toward pushback and different possibilities. This openness creates more trust—both between the leader and the team, and among the team members. So look to create space for people to question the status quo or the proposed path that you have envisioned, and approach those moments with seriousness and care.
Trait #3: Wise leaders prioritize lifelong learning and curiosity.
Truly wise leaders know they don’t have a monopoly on wisdom and that the best way to strengthen some of their other skills—such as synthesizing information and assessing dissenting views—is to consistently engage in ongoing learning and discovery. Adopting a growth mindset that focuses on new experiences and improvement over simply “winning” can help keep the sense of curiosity toward novel ideas strong.
Here again, reading about topics and areas outside of your immediate sphere can be helpful. Another approach is to join a mastermind group of like-minded learning-driven people, where you can share and test ideas and strategies regularly.
Trait #4: Wise leaders delegate.
Smart leaders tend to have a remarkably clear understanding of what they do especially well, the areas where they’re merely mediocre, and the tasks at which they essentially stink. Wise leaders go a step further. Instead of trying to do everything despite knowing they’re not exceptional across the board, wise leaders delegate authority. They devote their energy to areas where they are strongest and tasks that others cannot do nearly as well.
Above everything else, wise leaders hand off to others—with a focus on aligning the right person to the right job, thereby helping ensure each team member is devoted to doing what they do best.
Trait #5: Wise leaders focus on enlightened self-interest.
Wise leaders recognize that effective buy-in from a team doesn’t result from force or cajoling. Instead, they look for overlap between their own interests and the interests of the people around them, then highlight the areas of commonality that exist among everyone’s goals and interests.
This approach is sometimes called enlightened self-interest, because it focuses on how everyone’s wants or needs are satisfied (at least in part) by pursuing a specific plan. For example, say your goal is to grow your business while your staff members’ goal is to make more money. By explicitly showing how your plan for business growth translates into more income for your team, you show how your various interests are aligned.
Trait #6: Wise leaders scan for—and confront—their biases.
We all have cognitive biases that can influence how we view anything from a single event to the world at large. Wise leaders recognize that these biases can potentially paint a blurred or inaccurate picture of a situation, a need or a proposed solution.
For example, there’s recency bias—in which our brains automatically assume that the most recent results we’ve experienced will continue going forward. But, of course, situations and the drivers behind outcomes can change rapidly. Similarly, confirmation bias causes us to focus on evidence or ideas that support our existing beliefs and underweight or ignore facts and suggestions that conflict with those beliefs—even if those different or challenging ideas make the most sense in a given environment. Of course, many other biases exist.
Inviting debate and dissent (see trait #2 above) is one way to see if your biases are giving you a less-than-accurate picture. Another way is to delay making a decision, to give you time to consider alternative perspectives. Another tip: Try thinking about outcomes in terms of probability rather than binary yes/no results, which may help you examine a situation in a more nuanced way.
Conclusion
Being a wise leader may not come easily to many of us. But by engaging in the thoughts and actions that may help boost wisdom, we can potentially bring people together to pursue important and meaningful goals in ways that have the highest probability of success.
That sounds pretty smart—and wise!
VFO Inner Circle Special Report
By John J. Bowen Jr.
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