21st Century Leadership: Wisdom from Multiple Intelligences

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by James Traeger

Leaders used to be able to rely on rational intelligence, clever thinking, when organisations were confronted with a clear set of problems to solve.

Now, the nature of the modern working environment is so complex, political and volatile that leaders require a much wider repertoire of skills in order to be able to remain clear, make good decisions, engage their people and stay resilient.

There is a business case to be made for a wider set of intelligences, but these alone may need to be enhanced by the wisdom to use them, the knowledge, skills, and understanding of the shifting nature of the problems and challenges they face. We call this ‘wisdom in the workplace’.

So what are the components of the shift from cleverness to wisdom?

• practical intelligence to make a difference in the ‘here and now’, with every day realities
• cognitive intelligence and sophistication to be able to construct good models of the world that change shape as the world changes
• imaginative intelligence to be able to construct stories that compel others, capture enabling truths, distill brands and engage customers
• emotional intelligence to develop strong relationships, get that bit extra, the ‘discretionary effort’ out of others and themselves.
• embodied intelligence to authentically exude the presence of a leader, without having to be ‘heroic’
• systemic, Collective Intelligence, or ‘CQ’, to read the wider patterns and hold the organizing centre together whilst still giving room for the innovating edge.
• political intelligence; the ability to read which way the wind is blowing, yet still hold onto to a sense of purpose with integrity
• intuitive intelligence, the gut instinct to know what’s around the corner

All of these intelligences are individually recognizable in themselves, and should be familiar, at least in theory to most contemporary leaders. But when it comes to the capacity to deal with the circumstances of complexity and speed that most leaders face, there is an ‘X-Factor’ that is not entirely accounted for in this list. We would call this X-Factor ‘wisdom’, and it would be helpful to be clear about what this is, and how leaders can cultivate more of it. We hope to illustrate this with a story:

The Story of Jane

Jane is a senior leader in an organisation. She was hired to be a heavy-hitter with a reputation as such in the specific marketplace of the business. She was known for being capable of driving change, and as someone who ‘doesn’t suffer fools gladly’. In her first few months, she made it clear to a number of her senior team members what she wanted from them and what she didn’t want. She was prepared to be unpopular, and indeed, early on, she was, with quite a few people. As a result, a number of the senior team moved on, even though some of them had been in their role for a considerable length of time. With the help of Emma, her HRBP, with whom she worked closely, Jane recruited a number of people who she thought had the potential to better share her vision. Emma worked with her in building a new senior team. One of the things Jane asked Emma was to help recruit one or two people who Jane said made up for her own weaknesses. Even Emma herself was encouraged in this respect. ‘I underdo positive feedback’, June said to her. ‘I need you to do some of that for me, and let me know when I haven’t done enough of it, for you and others. You need to tell me when to back off.’