In 2022, there were over 500,000 podcasts devoted to the topic of leadership. Add to that the volumes of leadership books, online courses, and blogs, and you are one or two clicks away from a staggering amount of content on how leadership ought to be done. So, clearly it is not a lack of information that has led to the crisis of leadership we see all around us.
Most leadership topics can be divided in three broad categories:
(1) How I Made It: autobiographical—gives an inside look at the lives of successful leaders.
(2) How You Should Lead: offers instruction on various leadership models and techniques.
(3) The Why: considers leadership theory from a largely academic perspective.
All three categories seek to expand our knowledge and skill sets. Taking that knowledge and applying it to real workplace situations requires something different, however—understanding. Even the correct application of learned principles is not enough. Many of the challenges we face as leaders are complex and require insights that go beyond a textbook knowledge, no matter how detailed, and frequently exceed the insights of our own accumulated experiences. These challenges require wisdom. Webster’s Dictionary defines wisdom as the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships (insight) and as good sense (“judgment”).
Almost 3000 years ago, King Solomon characterized wisdom as:
• more profitable than silver
• yielding a better return than gold
• more precious than rubies.
It is the essence that separates good leaders from great leaders. Solomon understood this early on in his reign. He was given the opportunity by God to ask for anything he wanted—riches, power, stock options, a golden parachute. The sky was the limit. Listen to how he responded in I Kings 3:7-9: Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in [emphasis added]. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil [emphasis added]. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?
Solomon asked for an understanding heart so that he might govern (lead) well by correctly discerning between good and evil. In other words, he asked for wisdom. He correctly understood that he was in over his head. He was also honest about his need for help—a sort of humility that is hard for leaders, especially the higher we rise in our careers.
He knew that the apprehension of knowledge is only the beginning. We need the ability to take that knowledge and apply it to the world around us. For example, I may read with great interest about the techniques for joining two boards together using a left-tilt saw. That knowledge, while interesting, is not translated into understanding until I actually line up two boards and begin ripping the edges.
Knowledge, although correct and even thorough, is of limited use unless it can be applied. That application requires understanding the concepts well enough to translate them into real-life situations. Knowledge is just the beginning.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding,” says Proverbs 9:10.
So, knowledge of the facts, data, and principles only leads to understanding as we take that knowledge and build on it through experience. The ability to apply that understanding to interpret the world around us requires wisdom, however. Not just pragmatic, bottom-line thinking, but wisdom that gives insights beyond even the most skilled contingency analyses.
Patrick Henry College challenges the unacceptable status quo in higher education by combining the academic strength and commitment to biblical principles that elite institutions have lost; a commitment to high academic rigor, fidelity to the spirit of the American founding, and an unwavering biblical worldview.