When we are new to a career, we feel we have something to prove. We are learning and growing at a rapid pace, and we want credit for our achievements. Maybe we think the world owes us something, or maybe we feel we are working so hard we deserve something extra to recognize our efforts. Maybe that recognition is vital to our motivation. Maybe we are driven in other ways but we see others succeeding and being recognized, and we want or think we deserve the same - or at least a fair shot. Maybe we just want an opportunity. That's all understandable. We've all been there in some way or another, whether we realize it or not. But then, something shifts. Later in your career, you want others to talk more than you in meetings. You sit back and listen rather than steamrolling. Maybe you want people to think you have a little secret that will be revealed at the appropriate time. Or you just want to convey you have knowledge, and they can come to you if they need it. Expectations are tempered. Self-awareness grows and self-promotion may shrink. Ego-centrism wanes while collaboration enhances. You are slowly, deliberately, moving out of the spotlight, being the director rather than the leading actor. Wisdom changes us. It shifts our perspective. It levels us out and rounds us out and helps us see things we couldn't before. This doesn't mean your passion has to go away. We hope it never does. Instead, it means you can hone your passion and use it in the best way possible -- use it in a way that benefits yourself and others, a way that leaves things better off than they were before. When we are young and spry and bright-eyed, we look at the world as having endless possibilities. Let's never lose that spark. But let's channel it in the right way. Naivety or selfishness are things to outgrow; you can stay passionate and excited while still being practical and wise.
Let's try to keep the invigorating parts of our youth as we grow wiser and ward off the heavier parts of growing, such as pessimism or indifference.
Let's learn what parts of ourselves are good to keep and hone and grow, and which parts need to evolve to bring us success. Then let's channel the energy of our past selves and combine it with our wisdom to become the best version of ourselves we can be.
For example, earlier in our careers, we likely thought we needed to justify all of our actions. We probably gave explanations for why we did something a certain way. We thought that would show our thought process and would make us look knowledgeable - and maybe save face. But once our wisdom and self-awareness grow, we don't do that as often. Sure, there are going to be times when it is necessary and/or helpful. But more often, we'll realize the justification doesn't matter so much - what matters is the action that follows. If my boss tells me to do something differently, I don't explain why I did it wrong the first time around, unless it's an appropriate time for a discussion; instead, I say great - let's figure out what needs to be done differently this time, and in moving forward together, I do it right the next time. It's not helpful to give an explanation for doing something wrong - in fact, it can appear childish (harsh, but true). Sometimes it can be helpful, if we are learning a new process or system or tool, or if we need to figure out together what not to do and what to do instead.
And that's the hardest part - knowing when to justify and when not to. When to let excitement take over and when to be practical. When to self-promote and when to direct others.
That's the power of wisdom.
It's not foolproof; just like anything else, it is a process, and it has a learning curve. It's a muscle that must be worked and healed and challenged and explored and grown.
Wisdom can be attained at any age and at any stage in your career. You may not even know how much you have until you see a lack thereof in someone else.
For example, I try to use "we" as often as possible. Back when I was a one-person department, I still said that "we" were successful at xyz or that "we" were excited about this new program. Through a combination of natural personal growth and deliberate leadership education, I learned that it's not about me, and that by delivering messages that tout the successes of "us" as a group, I am being a better leader. Saying "we" is inclusive and inspirational. It makes people feel they are a part of our efforts. If I said, "I just launched this program," I am forgetting the work of all the others that went into it, or the impact it'll have across the board, or the opportunities for collaboration it may introduce. And even if I really did do it myself, what's the point of saying "I"? Saying "we" shows a higher-level understanding of the bigger picture. It shows strategic understanding and alignment.
Strategic thinking and wisdom are very similar. There are more academic ways to gain a strategic understanding of business operations than there are ways to deliberately try to be wiser, but the ideas are the same: As we grow, we uncover blind spots, broaden our perspectives, see the value of collaboration, and learn where we fit in the grand scheme of things. Our view widens and becomes more connective.
Instead of only seeing one path of execution, a strategic thinker can see other avenues. Instead of thinking just about one project, a strategic thinker can see how various programs connect. Instead of evaluating one trait in a vacuum, a strategic thinker can see how levers can be pulled to shift the weight in one way or another based on the situation. Instead of acting on their first inclination blindly, a strategic thinker can weigh opportunities and choose the one that brings the most value. Instead of always justifying what they did wrong, a strategic thinker can decide when it's appropriate to explain and when it's necessary to act.
These are all true of people who are wise, too.
We start to see our place in the world. This means we first have to raise our eyes and see the world around us. Wisdom broadens our view and helps us see how we are interconnected; strategic understanding lets us see where one project fits into the big picture, how each program supports the corporate vision, how each task is important and can lead to success for the community, not just you.
This can be difficult to coach or to try to increase on our own. It comes with time, and experience, and challenges, and interactions, and opportunities. Part of it comes naturally over time, while the other part has to be within us - we have to want to grow. We have to want to change. We have to want to broaden our perspective and appreciate others and have a team-first mentality. We have to want to understand the corporate vision and other teams' goals and the big picture. We have to want to work with others and listen to others and lift others up. We have to realize that we have a unique set of skills and traits, and so does every single other person, and that when we work together, we will be better off than we could have been alone.
And when we put strategy, teams, and collaboration first, when we raise our eyes and widen our view, when we think about how others help us and how we can help others, when we consider where we add value and what is appropriate to say and how to say it, when we allow ourselves to be open to new ideas and different processes and new perspectives, when we display understanding and listening and synergy, we create a balanced, harmonious, virtuous cycle that benefits everyone, rather than just us alone. And isn't that the whole point?
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