Wisdom, Discernment, Integrity and Decisions

How often do you hear the terms wisdom, discernment, and integrity used during the business day?

What are organizations looking for when hiring, promoting, and thinking about future decision-makers?

We hear words like intelligent, problem-solver, action-oriented, results-driven, and good decision-making ability.

But what good are any of those if they aren't carried out with wisdom, discernment, and integrity? It's possible to be action-oriented and still take a lot of wrong actions.

Does intelligence guarantee sound leadership?  History reveals that many leaders with intelligence that was clearly "above average" have oppressed their people, ruined their economies and committed genocide.

What Are We Dealing With Here?

First, some slightly paraphrased definitions from Merriam-Webster Online.

Wisdom: ability to discern inner qualities and relationships : (insight) c : good sense : (judgment).

Discernment: the power to distinguish and select what is true or appropriate or excellent; the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure.

Integrity: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : (incorruptibility); the quality or state of being complete or undivided : (completeness).

Why Do They Make a Difference?

Let's start with integrity. It's probably the easiest to deal with and something that we do talk about on the job, at least when it is violated.

Integrity makes a difference because it's an outward indication of our internal character. If we say we have a set of "corporate" values and then live by them--even if it means sacrificing extra revenue--then we are known as having integrity. When we live up to our word, we have integrity. Most of all, integrity is what allows a person or a company to be trusted.

When you possess wisdom, you are able to make judgments that go beneath the surface issue or decision being presented. My observation and experience show that those possessing wisdom have actually learned from their previous experiences and mistakes; have confronted their own part in them; and now are able to see more clearly what is happening within other people and other situations. Maturity--not age alone--is necessary for wisdom.

Discernment is probably the least-used word in business. It implies a well-honed wisdom that allows one to accurately "read between the lines" when dealing with people and situations and see what is true. You and I know lots of people who say "I know how to 'read' people. However, I don't really know lots of people who discern the truth very well at all.

What Happens in The Absence of Those Three ?

When we hire and promote based upon education, experience, and behavioral traits, we're still working on the surface. To get "keepers" we need to dig one level deeper.

At a business luncheon meeting a few years ago our well-educated, high-level executive speaker spent his entire block of time talking about his accomplishments, what he was going to achieve in the coming year, and the plan to get there. When he asked for questions, the guy next to me said something gutsy. He paraphrased William James:

"I'm sorry. Who you are spoke so loudly that I wasn't able to hear what you had to say."

My neighbor had discerned the self-centered character of the presenter. The speaker had not discerned the values, maturity and character of his audience. As a result, his accomplishments couldn't overcome the low regard in which his peers began to hold him as a result of his bravado. It was a defining moment that impacted his career mobility.

When we're hiring, promoting, and making leadership decisions of any kind, wouldn't it be worthwhile to accurately discern who we're getting?

It will ultimately determine what we get.

There's a lot of blind faith attached to the perceived attribute of "intelligece."  Have a look at Jim Stroup's piece on Blind Faith at Managing Leadership.  Another take from an HR perspective is Sharlyn Lauby's Truth and Transparency.

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Comments

[Sharlyn Lauby]

Nice post. I had a boss who once told me with every job she learned a little bit about human resources and a whole lot about people. I've never forgot it...

And, thanks for mentioning HR Bartender!

[Lisa Gates]

Steve, I've said this privately in emails, and I want to publicly say that your wisdom needs to be bottled. No doubt one of your readers is a fine editor type who would love to wander through your blog and pull out your core messages and put it into book form. They're just dying to be asked...to get a green light from you.

What you write about here today is the kind of umbrella or thesis opening for your book. Discernment is a million dollar word, and a gazillion dollar word when experienced and felt--in any setting.

[Steve Roesler]

Sharlyn,

That was one honest boss!

As for the HR Bartender, you're in my feed...keep writing.

[Steve Roesler]

Thanks, Lisa,

What actually prompted the article was the fact that a few years back, there was much ado about integrity, "transparency", and ethics in the workplace: books, workshops, and speeches. Now that we are seeing the results of a gross lack of integrity and ethics, there is little being said.

To me that is, in itself, an indicator of a problem with integrity.

[Chris Witt]

Steve,

Great post, as usual. I've only recently begun speaking with my clients -- higher level executives, mainly -- about wisdom. Specifically, about their wisdom. I'm finding there's more willingness to address the issue than I would have thought. And the conversations take us in directions I wouldn't have anticipated.

Another word that isn't used much in business circles is virtue. We tend to talk about values, instead. What are our corporate values or our personal values?

Values are things (attributes, characteristics, or qualities) that we esteem or hold dear, or they are ideals. So we value honesty, for example, or responsiveness to our customers.

Virtues are, to use an old-fashioned expression, "habits of the heart," qualities that are ingrained through repetition. (To be virtues, of course, they have to promote the individual's and the community's well-being.)

Honesty is a virtue, gained through years of telling the truth. But a person could value honesty without choosing to tell the truth. And a company could claim that customer responsiveness is one of their core values without putting policies and practices in place that make it an intrinsic part of how the company acts.

Wisdom is, by the way, "the chief and leader" among the virtues, according to Plato.

Sorry about climbing on my soapbox and going on so long, but your post really got me thinking. Thanks.

[Wally Bock]

Congratulations! This post was selected as one of the five best business blog posts of the week in my Three Star Leadership Midweek Review of the Business Blogs.

http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2009/03/11/31109-midweek-look-at-the-independent-business-blogs.aspx

Wally Bock

[Linda Zdanowicz]

In the small dental practice that I manage I use If Aristotle Ran General Motors by Tom Morris as my leadership bible. The four foundations he discusses, truth, beauty, unity and goodness, lead all our decisions and actions. I used this book when I began managing a very confused and somewhat distrustful staff. Through our discussions of the book we've built a culture of trust, integrity and cooperation. Whenever I sense we need a tweak, out comes the book for a refresher. I love your post because it points out the necessity for wisdom and integrity in a culture of goodness. It's all about mastering our impulses and thinking. It's easy to just give into negative thinking, but it's not wise to do so since it seems to set up a pattern of negativity. Bringing wisdom and integrity into our thoughts and reactions will help develop a culture that promotes positive results and inspires goodness.
Linda

[Steve Roesler]

Chris,

Thanks for extending this. And of course, who's going to mess with Plato?!

Your distinction between virtues and values is a conversation that every organization should initiate and take to heart. It's easy for any of us to acknowledge that we value a certain thing; what is important, though, is whether or not the attendant actions are part of our very beings.

I'm not surprised that you are seeing a positive response when raising the issue of wisdom. Many years ago I stumbled across the same dynamic in the midst of consulting during a serious corporate crisis. That discussion led to organizational soul-searching and actions that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise. As a result, it's become a deliberate part of all my initial discussions with executives.

In our work with executive communications, a pithy question to ask is; "Do you want to be perceived as wise or smart?" How one uses intelligence will reveal the presence--or absence--of the first characteristic.

There's a reason Solomon is quoted so frequently...

[Steve Roesler]

Linda,

Your story is inspiring, because:

a. You showed courage in bringing together a group of people to look at issues of deep and long-term importance.

b. It's easy to find a vendor who wants upgrade office and hygienist skills; it's tough to find a manager who looks beneath the surface at the foundation on which to build a practice.

Kudos...and thank you for taking the time to share your story.