The Wise Leader: A Practical Guide for Thinking Differently About Leadership

How do your philosophies and purpose show up in the way you behave day to day?

Shaun went a step further in characterizing his six selves and drew pictures. This helped him better explore the different selves he identified (Figure 2.2).

Step four – test your hypotheses

When she speaks her mind, she doesn’t expect people to agree with her or to bend to her will. Instead, she is curious to see how others respond, curious to learn from their perspectives, and ready to speak her mind again. This leader is wiser.

Practical judgment is a similar idea to practical wisdom. It is the idea that we develop as leaders over time, through experience and our reflections on that experience.

‘the experience-based ability to notice more of what is going on and intuit what is most important about a situation’19.

Think about one or two specific examples of times when you led change. Which way of thinking best characterizes how you were thinking in those examples?

When people engage in dialogue, they genuinely open themselves up to each other's ideas and perspectives, allowing room for new, unforeseen, ideas to emerge.

Whether or not we are seen to be wise depends on the views of others in our culture17.