LEADERSHIP WISDOM.

In leadership and life, wisdom is the application of knowledge. The essence of leadership wisdom is captured in the aphorism, “be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove.” From this saying, 4 critical leadership actions can be observed: 4Rs. Every leader needs to know how to (1) reflect, (2) relate, (3) recoil and (4) rebuke. 1) Reflect. Thinking is a leader’s greatest asset. Effective leaders think first, act and then feel. Their leadership responses are filtered through vision, established strategic priorities, processes and practices. And although they recognize feelings are important, feelings don’t drive their decision-making. 2) Relate. Leaders must be approachable, communicative and conversational. This means creating a stakeholder environment of psychological safety - being clear about objectives and open to the ideas of others. 3) Recoil. Leaders have to know where to push in and where to back off. In matters of style, leaders should swim with the current; in matters of principle, leaders must stand like a rock. (Thomas Jefferson) Defining where a system will be tight and loose is critical to achieving optimal outcomes. Lastly, 4) Rebuke. Every leader must course correct and provide correction when required. Tolerating a flawed perspective, bad behavior or a bad actor may be temporarily expedient but, ultimately, such conciliatory acts undermine trust, erode institutional credibility and diminish effectiveness. #LeadWithWisdom

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