Bala Sir on Academic Leadership-71

Leadership and Wisdom????????????

If you run into the pages of History, you will find that there have been several thousands of leaders who have provided leadership of one kind or the other from time to time. From the Agricultural society, the transformation has occurred and we have passed through the Industrial society, Informatics society and we are presently in the Knowledge society. The types of leaders, who have provided the leadership, have done so depending on the socio-political, cultural, and geographical environments of the respective countries, places and societies. A close examination of the profile of these leaders would indicate that most of them never had a formal education and didn’t attend organized schools of thought, but emerged as leaders through introspection, a spirit of inquiry, understanding the needs of the situations they lived in, and through practical wisdom.

The word ‘Wisdom’ is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘Wisian’ meaning to show the way, to guide and to lead. So, one can understand that it is a vital attribute to the making of a leader. The resulting features of wisdom, therefore, are the acquisition of the following competencies (as listed by John Adair):

These emerge into practical skills and then into practical wisdom.

John Adair deliberating on the role of leaders and practical Wisdom in his book “How to Grow Leaders?” refers to ‘prudence’ as an important trait of a leader. The word prudence which emerges from the Latin word ‘prudentia’ means ‘practical wisdom’ rather than the present connotation used in the n English language. It is this practical wisdom than bookish knowledge that gives leaders the competency to handle complex situations. These abilities are presently differentially packaged in management courses in textual formats. One must develop the skills in practice through appropriate case studies and experimental situations.?

Adair goes on to say that the practical wisdom is a compound of the following three elements:

He adds two additional elements to the above namely humility and humour. A wise man is essentially humble and is characterized by his humility. You can examine the profile of many great leaders and would find that humility was a hallmark of their character. A wise man is also essentially humourous because he knows to laugh at things and take things lightly.?

A leader has to be necessarily wise, pragmatic, understanding, compassionate, empathetic, and judicious.??In the words of Adair “Wisdom is a broad term and suggests a rare combination of discretion, maturity, keenness of intellect, broad experience, extensive learning, profound thought and compassionate understanding. In its fullest application, wisdom implies the highest and noblest exercise of the moral nature as well as of the nature.”

Here is an extract from the writings of Jerry Stemkoski which is indicative of practical wisdom:

“One early spring day I met an old farmer. It had been a rainy spring and I commended how good it must be for the crops to have so much rain early in the season. He replied: “No if the weather is too easy on the crops now, the plants may only grow roots on the surface. If that happens, then a storm could easily uproot and destroy the crops. However, if things are not so easy in the beginning, then the plants will have to grow strong and deep roots they need to get water and nourishment down below. If a storm or drought comes, they are most likely to survive.” Now I look at rough times as an opportunity to put down some roots to help me weather future storms that may come my way.”

There are many lessons to learn through practical wisdom.

Bala Sir is the Chair of the Advisory Council at CLLE. A thought leader in education, he was the former Director (Academics) of CBSE, Delhi. He is a passionate teacher, curriculum designer, and mentor for various educational institutions and leaders across the world. He brings his extensive experience and wisdom to propel various learning partnerships and initiatives at CLLE.