The importance of wisdom
People expect a lot from leaders. We expect them to be honest, visionary, inspiring, competent and credible, among many other qualities. Recently, I've been reflecting on what I have admired in people whom I have chosen to follow, and I find that I am in line with longstanding national and international trends. I wouldn't follow a dishonest person across the street, let alone anywhere important. I am inspired by people who seem to see over the horizon, know where they want the organization to go, and can align people with that vision and keep them focused. I want to follow people who believe in what they are doing, fire me up and challenge me to commit to what they're committed. I allow people to influence me when I think they know what they're doing, both technically and as a leader.
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When it comes right down to it, I guess I am pretty hard to impress; I'm not following anybody who hasn't earned the right by proving to be trustworthy, credible and authentic. That doesn't make me a whole lot different than a lot of other people, especially in the fire service. However, there's something more — a factor that took time for me to put my finger on. I'm getting old; I have been around; I have done a lot and I have plenty of experience. I am pretty self-sufficient, and I do not think I need much guidance or inspiration from other people. So besides the usual, what makes me allow another person to influence me? I expect leaders to be wise — to exercise wisdom.
Traditionally, we have seen wisdom as the highest form of knowledge. However, wisdom represents more than the command of information, accumulated knowledge or experience. Wisdom is how we use our knowledge and experience in our daily lives, applying them sensibly with insight and good judgment. Wisdom is how we incorporate our knowledge, experience, skills and values into our decision-making process.
To be certain, effective leadership requires both knowledge and experience. Leaders must be credible, and part of leadership credibility involves knowing the job and understanding the jobs of people we wish to lead. In the fire service, we place a lot of stock in experience. We want to know that people have been here before. However, knowledge and experience do not equal wisdom. I must be honest: I know people who have a wealth of fire knowledge and who have been on the job for decades, whom I don't consider wise or exceptionally good leaders. For me, besides knowledge and experience, effective leadership requires a depth of character and personal maturity, an understanding of people and the ability to keep things in perspective. In short, my leaders have to be grown-ups. Otherwise, in my experience, they struggle to gain my respect and the respect of those they wish to lead.
I've been thinking about the wisest people I know and what qualities illustrate their wisdom. I recently heard author Stephen S. Hall, who writes about the intersection of science and society, describe wisdom as a combination of reflection, patience and emotional control. That describes the people I've followed because I've felt their wisdom. They are people who not only could turn information into knowledge to make things happen; they could make the right things happen because they incorporated their values and judgment with their knowledge and propensity for action.
They had presence, but more than the conventional idea of "command presence." I've known people who had command presence coming out of their ears but lacked wisdom. They looked and acted their part, carried themselves well, communicated their intent and spoke with power, but in practice they did not reflect on their own influence, lacked patience with others and could not control their own emotions. I am talking about a different kind of presence. When I think of my wisdom top 10, I think of people who reflect on their own behavior and their contributions to performance, both good and bad; keep things in perspective and exercise patience, particularly with other people; focus on resilience, both their own and that of others; know when to make exceptions to the rules; know when to improvise; and, finally, know how to keep their own emotions under control.
I have had the opportunity to follow a good many people, some whom I would follow anywhere and some whom I would not willingly follow — even out of curiosity, as an experiment or just so I could witness the train wreck. As I reflected on those whom I have followed willingly, I came to realize that, in addition to honesty, vision, inspiration, competence, credibility and all those things that we expect from leaders, I valued those leaders' wisdom. I respect people who can apply their knowledge, experience and skills to their own lives and use what they know sensibly with insight and good judgment. For me, a good leader incorporates his or her knowledge, experience, skills and values into the decision-making process in all aspects of life.
Mike DeGrosky is chief executive officer of the Guidance Group, a consulting organization specializing in the human and organizational aspects of the fire service. He also serves as an adjunct instructor in leadership studies at Fort Hays State University. His interests include leadership, strategy, and bringing the concepts of learning organizations and high-reliability organizing alive in fire organizations. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. focused on organizational leadership. He can be reached at info@guidancegroup.org.
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