On our ‘Engaging People, Powering Companies’ podcast last week,

Amrit spoke on the topic of developing wisdom. This is a subject very close to both our hearts and is actually one of our Company Values. Trust, Wisdom, and Authenticity are our three, and out of these, Wisdom may feel a little strange and require explanation. It might feel like an old-fashioned word, or one that doesn’t feel like it translates to the business world, but in Amrit’s podcast and in my words to follow, we are doing our best to bring this very important, deep little word back. Wisdom is critical, read on to find out why!

For Amrit being bought up in his deeply rooted Sikh culture, no one used the words ‘develop wisdom’ or ‘become wise’, yet it was so ingrained in his culture, that he knew his whole objective in life was, and is, to develop wisdom and to become wise. It is a lifelong pursuit and for Amrit as described in the podcast, is just like breathing. For me too, I have always, since I can remember, been curious about what life is all about, and have had a want to learn and develop myself, out of where I might have felt stuck, and to understand what is under the surface, so I can be more compassionate to myself and others. I believe the world needs it!

The word wisdom itself might conjure up images like the wise, old owl, or Gandolph with his long white beard, or Dumbledore with his perfectly timed wise words to Harry, after always letting him try and discover the answers for himself first!  The dictionary definition is ‘the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement’, and of course in story books, that is exactly what these characters possess, a lifetime of experience, that has built a library of knowledge, that is then used to know exactly what to do, whether that is shared upfront or not! And even if the wisest people shared their wisdom upfront, it doesn’t always land, or get utilised by others, because we must learn it for ourselves (have the experience) before we gain the knowledge and use it to display good judgement!

Psychologist Paul Baltes defines wisdom as “expert knowledge in the fundamental pragmatics of life that permits exceptional insight, judgement and advice about complex and uncertain matters”. This builds on the basic dictionary definition and encompasses so much about understanding different contexts in life, and recognising and managing uncertainty, which let’s face it, is life. There may be a preconception that wisdom develops with age, and while more time on this earth brings more opportunity to develop wisdom, researchers agree that wisdom isn’t what necessarily results from aging. They also agree that being intelligent doesn’t just translate to being wise either.

Peterson and Seligman (2004) define wisdom as “knowledge hard fought for, and then used for good”. I love this because they acknowledge that wisdom doesn’t just happen, and bring in a noble element, and what use is wisdom if it isn’t helping humankind evolve and be happier and healthier in body, mind and spirit?! They describe it a noble trait and one that is appreciated by others. Maybe it is because it gives people hope. Whatever your view, wisdom is a critical component of life and work, and according to the above-mentioned researchers in the field of positive psychology, there are five strengths that fall under the umbrella of wisdom, and they are creativity, curiosity, judgement, love of learning, and perspective.

The nice thing about these five strengths is that they exist in everyone to a varying degree and the more you use them, the stronger they become. Peterson and Seligman’s research actually shares twenty-four strengths of which these are the five most common, which you can learn about here as to what order yours fall (I will be off to do this shortly!). If it helps to shine a light on where there is opportunity to develop more wisdom, then I am all in!

Developing wisdom specifically in the workplace, is important. We want wise leaders that bring people along with them because they are emotionally intelligent and good communicators, who learn from their mistakes, and get up and try again, humbly, with grace. We want to ensure that we are tapping into the talent that we have and to give people the room to develop wisdom and use it.

Too often we can end up pigeonholing people into a grade, or job role seeing only what we think we see on face value and overlooking their potential. The truth is that everybody, no matter what we think of them and their capabilities, has a wealth of life experiences which are the foundation for developing wisdom. If we could step back and look at the whole person, the life experiences and the knowledge gained throughout not just their career, but their lives. What have they overcome, what they love, what knowledge they hold about… what they know about the job and building relationships that we never talk about? How are they at setting boundaries? Chances are, there is a lot more to them than what we think we see.

Imagine a workplace where our people make better judgements, decisions and have oodles of common sense, critical thinking, empathy, and know how to interact. Particularly in times of change and uncertainty, inviting people to bring their wholes selves, breaking out of pigeonholes and trusting them to try new things might be really beneficial - to have exposure to situations allowing them to integrate their wisdom from life, into their workplace. Allowing people the experience of doing something different, developing their wisdom in the process!

One of the things we hold dear and talk about until we are blue in the face, which you could argue touches on the five strengths of developing wisdom above (creativity, curiosity, judgement, love of learning, and perspective) is reflective practice. Confucius said:

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest”.

Personal reflection allows us to get underneath all those beliefs, assumptions and stories we tell ourselves that can keep us so firmly stuck on a path. Amrit, after a lifetime of using the reflective questions ‘what am I making it mean’ and ‘what else could it mean’ reminds us to keep asking these questions of ourselves. We are meaning making machines as humans, and we will find meaning that support beliefs that are not only not helpful, but that really could keep us limited, stuck, and holding ourselves, our loved ones and our businesses back.

We might think we know what is going on, but it is amazing how a little reflective practice can open situations up, helping us find solutions we didn’t see, bringing people together and forging connections where perhaps we had given up. It really is super powerful. Individually we owe it to ourselves and each other, and in our workplaces, supporting people to become wise leaders by talking about this stuff is game changing. People love to grow and succeed. Businesses love to grow and succeed. Each help the other, they are intertwined.

Life is hard and complex, but we can make it less complex by making better judgements. As leaders let’s develop wisdom in ourselves and in our people. To help with this, we have shared our editable Reflective Journal, which you can get by clicking on this link to the podcast. You can use it to help develop a reflective practice, helping change your life and your business! Perhaps being described as a wise leader, is one of the nicest compliments we could get!

Click here to listen to the podcast.