It's a shame that knowledge is so disproportionately regarded as the key to good management. Get an MBA, they say, and you'll get a promotion. Or read this book, they urge, and it'll teach you how to go from good to great. But what researchers are discovering, really only in recent years, is that knowledge isn't enough. What's truly required to excel is something much more profound: managerial wisdom.
That probably comes as uncomfortable news to those of us addicted to higher education. Every new qualification we add to our CV comes with a boosted expectation that now we're more capable, more insightful, more skilled. But that's not necessarily what transpires.
When thinking of the best manager I ever had, she had never spent a day on a campus anywhere – except ironically as the guest speaker at graduation ceremonies. And when thinking of the worst manager I've ever had, she had more letters after her name than the most royal of Royals.
Now that's not to denigrate higher education at all. Anti-intellectualism is a blight on modern-day discourse. As a perpetual uni student, I obviously value knowledge and learning a lot. It's just that the more I know and learn, the more I appreciate the amplifying role of wisdom, a vital ingredient near impossible to teach.
Which is why a study published in the latest issue of the Management Learning journal is so intriguing. The researchers interviewed experienced older managers. They were all aged over 50 and had been in a management position for at least ten years. Each of them had an MBA but, when asked to talk about their successes, they referred to skills that were related more to wisdom than to knowledge.
These included a gentleman who negotiated a trade union agreement without any formal training in industrial relations. The scholars summarise his achievement by explaining that "he won not through the laborious, rational, evidence-based and balanced process of decision-making as depicted in management texts, but rather through quick but sound personal judgement grounded in experience".
Another example could be seen in those who admitted how little they actually knew, which in itself is said to be a sign of wisdom. This was best articulated by a senior IT manager whose comment also helps to explain the attitude of many junior employees straight out of uni: "I'm living my managerial life backwards. I started knowing everything and I've ended up knowing so little."
So what makes someone wise? A series of studies published last year by scholars at the Universities of Toronto and Florida shed light on the enlightened. In the first, more than 200 people were asked to list as many historical figures they could think of who they regard as wise. Of course those who topped the list were Gandhi and Jesus. Sadly just one woman made the shortlist: Mother Teresa.
Further inquiry of another 200 participants revealed what people perceive to be wise can be classified into three categories, each of which could be replicated by managers at work:
Practical wisdom is seen in people like Barack Obama. At work, they're simultaneously strategic and tactical, often characterised by bravery, ambition and purpose.
Philosophical wisdom is evident in thinkers like Albert Einstein. At work, they have a questioning nature, curious yet rational, grounded but inventive – they're inherently problem solvers.
Benevolent wisdom is associated with leaders like Nelson Mandela. They care for others' welfare, show compassion, abide by a resolute moral compass, and are genuinely humble.
The more I know and learn, the more I appreciate the amplifying role of wisdom, a vital ingredient near impossible to teach.
None of those attributes are the exclusive domain of the heroic or historic. Anyone can adopt them. As one of the participants in the earlier research remarked: It's the way to become "the wise old owl in [your] operation".
James Adonis is the author of How To Be Great. Follow MySmallBusiness on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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