Five Wisdoms
In this article, I will offer a summary of perspectives on wisdom presented in our Inspirational Leadership and Wisdom program. In fact, five perspectives capture the essence of our program as represented by the five stars of our Institute’s logo.
Wisdom is an innate human quality
Wisdom is not a prerogative of old men with white beards, or any intellectual elite or social class for that matter. It never was and never will be. Wisdom is an innate human quality we all have in our ‘genes’ regardless of age, gender, ethnic background, or education.
Whether we are aware of this quality or not and whether we use it or not is another question. However, just as any other quality, it needs to be valued, developed, and put into practice in order to grow.
Wisdom is an essential human quality and it deserves much more appreciation and attention than currently is the case. Given the increasingly complex global problems, we need wisdom more than ever before, notably in all leadership roles.
Wisdom requires a balance between our heart and mind
For way too long, only the intellectual pursuit of wisdom has been valued. At best, this has resulted in practical wisdom which is only one side of the coin. The other side can be found in our heart which is the source of our inner wisdom.
A vital component of inner wisdom is compassion. It adds empathy, forgiveness, patience, and support to those in need. It helps create meaningful relationships and a more inclusive society.
Integrating and balancing heart and mind enables leaders to take wiser decisions and that is what our world needs most, today and in the decades to come.
Wisdom is the key to connect us to the center of our being
Humans are multi-level beings. At a spiritual level, we will find the center of our being also known as our soul, spirit, higher self, etc. This center is beyond time and space and that’s why the only way to connect to it and to communicate with it consciously is by intuition (whereas trance and ecstasy only work subconsciously).
Our intuition can be greatly facilitated and revitalized by building a bridge of wisdom to the center of our being. To build this bridge, we need to master deep-level self-reflection. It is not difficult to learn, but as with anything, it is a matter of regular practice.
Wiser leaders have learned to lead from the inside out by building this inner bridge connecting them to the center of their being.
Wisdom is the key to find purpose and meaning in life
Purpose and meaning are also two sides of the same coin. Purpose is our spiritual goal in life (the reason why we are here on earth) and meaning is the way we express our purpose creating a meaningful life. This can be done in a myriad of ways, of course, depending on your definition of meaning.
It takes wisdom to find our purpose as it originates in the center of our being. Wisdom is also required to create an alignment between our purpose and our external daily activities to create meaning in our life. If you are looking for more purpose and meaning in your leadership role, wisdom will help you find it.
Leaders will be able to solve complex problems and take wiser decisions by becoming more aware of their deep-level purpose.
Wisdom is essential to counterbalance power
Power without wisdom is a curse, as history is showing us time and again. Whether it is about political or corporate power, religious or military power, if power is not balanced by wisdom, sooner or later abuse will be the result. And, as we all know, power abuse is a major cause of human suffering.
Wiser leaders know leadership roles come with a certain power. To prevent power abuse, they will demonstrate servant leadership in everything they do. For instance, they will let their stakeholders participate in all major decisions and support them in learning to lead themselves as much as possible.
Wiser leaders also create inner peace and inner freedom because they know peace on earth will never be sustainable any other way. Inner peace and freedom can be found in the center of our being, so again, wisdom will help us find it. That’s why we believe wisdom is the #1 leadership quality to be developed by all leaders.
These five perspectives capture the essence of our program as represented by the five stars of our Institute’s logo. I hope they will inspire you too to develop wiser leadership.
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Author: Daniel Le Gras
Date: January 2023
Picture: ArtTower Pixabay
Permission to download or copy this article is granted for private use only.
Please cite this article as: Le Gras, D. (2022). Five Wisdoms. Institute for Governance & Leadership, Amersfoort, The Netherlands. www.igl.institute