Part one: The invaluable wise individual.
What is wisdom and why do we need it?
Wisdom is a neglected characteristic. It is rarely cited in a job description – even for a CEO – yet wisdom should be one of the most sought after traits in an organisation. These days, it is mainly identified with spirituality and great leaders. No wonder we don’t attempt to develop it – it seems out of reach for most of us. This is a shame when there is a growing trend to develop other personal traits like happiness. Wisdom should be on the development list. We need to acknowledge a need for ‘wise jobs’.
We all know a wise person when we meet them. They are usually older, smiling knowingly and understanding how to make the right decision at the right time in the given situation. They are calm, knowing and compassionate and they understand the importance of greater good over selfish needs. In other words they have a lot of knowledge and experience which they can use instantly to sum up a situation and make a good decision.
The brain should get better as we get older
Interestingly, it seems that recent brain research can shed some light on how this might happen in an individual. In a Time magazine article (‘The Surprising Power of the Aging Brain’), I found the following explanation of the possible physiology behind wisdom: ‘In midlife’, says UCLA neurologist George Bartzokis, ‘you’re beginning to maximise the ability to use the entirety of the information in your brain on an everyday, ongoing, second-to-second basis. Biologically, that’s what wisdom is’.
The science of Wisdom
Over time, more and more information and experience is stored. At the same time as ‘grey matter’ is fading, fresh ‘white matter’ continues to grow. Apparently, this ‘white matter’ builds connective conductivity for grey matter to use – we get ‘wired’. Around the age of 45 or 50 the final stages of myelination enables the human brain to create ‘on line’ performance.
“Essentially, the brain spends decades upgrading from a dial-up internet to a high speed version, not fully completing the job until age 45 or so. It’s not just the wiring that charges up the brain as we age, It’s the way different regions start pulling together to make the whole organ work better than the sum of its parts.”
The power of reflection
This ability to synergise all of the knowledge we have gathered is an important factor in the ability to be wise. Those who spend time practicing reflective thinking are therefore seriously advantaged in this development process. The years after 45 also often coincide with children leaving home and the feeling of having achieved peak career performance at work. Lifestyle change (less action orientation – more time to relax and think) is therefore very likely.
Should we employ those over 45 in different but equally central roles in our organisations? Of course; they have a very different set of competencies which cannot be achieved when young. Unfortunately, not all older employees develop wisdom – some develop ‘hardening of the categories’. It is important to distinguish between these two groups – and even more important to begin the development process with existing employees before they reach 45.This will ensure that there will be a maximum number of wise potential to choose from.
Younger employees can experience wisdom in groups. However, collective wisdom requires a wise leader to act as catalyst. This ‘collective wisdom’ is a different but equally important matter that will form the topic of my next blog.