Wise Leaders Guide Through Change

When someone is described to you as "wise," what do you expect from that person? Generally you assume he or she will have a clear and balanced perspective, and will reflect on circumstances and come to a reasoned conclusion.  You assume that person will be able to give good counsel, and will learn from their own and others' mistakes.

All things, I would propose, that we find valuable in our leaders. In fact, it's one of the six qualities that we find people most look for when deciding whether of not to "follow" a leader.

Often, in our work with clients, we talk about the importance of being able to be a 'fair witness' as a leader; this is one part of the quality of wisdom.  The idea comes from a book by Robert Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land, where he creates  a profession called "being a fair witness." Fair witnesses are trained speak only from their direct experience; when asked about a situation, they are required by law to report only what they know to be true.  For example, when someone in the book points to a distant house on a hill and asks a Fair Witness what color it is, she replies, "It appears to be painted white on this side."  No extrapolation or interpretation; no cherry-picking the data; no saying what you hope is true or avoiding what you don't want to be true.

The wise leader begins from this foundation of objectivity (especially when emotions are running high), and then approaches the situation with curiosity and an ability to see patterns in events. Then the leader reviews all that he or she  observes and learns, and chooses to act based on what he or she believes to be morally right.  And, once the decision has been made, the wise leader reflects on the outcomes, acknowledges his or her mistakes, and adapts.

We want to see this characteristic in our leaders because it implies to us that the person is taking the responsibility of leadership seriously.  It says to us that he or she has the tools to assess complex situations and make the moral choice, and will use them.  It tells us that if that person makes a mistake, he or she will look at that fact objectively, will reflect and make appropriate changes.

We don't want to be led by someone who can't – or doesn't choose to – think well and deeply about important decisions facing the enterprise.  It feels unsafe to us to put our fate (even just our professional fate) in the hands of someone who makes superficial, biased, or self-promoting judgments.  We're particularly wary of leaders who don't acknowledge failure, who don't seem to learn from it and make appropriate changes moving forward.

Wisdom as a leader attribute is especially important in times of change; we want our leaders to make choices that will guide us through difficulties and help us all come safely into new realities.

Thanks to Erika Andersen / Blogs Forbes
http://blogs.forbes.com/erikaandersen/2011/05/05/wise-leaders-guide-through-change/