What is wisdom? (Hint: It’s not one thing but twelve.)

Knowledge and skill are necessary for problem-solving. But they fall short in decision-making unless they are used with wisdom. It is wisdom that helps people determine how to apply their expertise. Also called common sense or good judgment, wisdom is reflected in how individuals make choices, interact with each other, and respond to their environment. And it is wisdom that guides organizations to pursue goals in ways that are sustainable, ethical, and beneficial to the communities they serve.

Wisdom is often mentioned as if it is one thing, when, in fact, there are many types of wisdom. They can be exhibited both both individuals and organizations as unique wisdom profiles, a combination of distinct types of wisdom at different levels of maturity. So much of the work we do at Back Porch Consulting rests on the wisdom infused in an organization, especially its leadership team. Interestingly, it is not just the maturity that determines successful leadership, but the balance and interplay of different wisdom types within the group. For that reason, we invested in studying and developing a framework for understanding organizational wisdom. The resulting wisdom framework describes twelve distinct types of wisdom and groups them according to their focus.

You are welcome to take the wisdom survey to find out more about your individual wisdom profile. It is unscientific (aka not tested according to the scientific method), although is is based heavily on scholarly research. The results are meant to help individuals reflect on their natural tendencies to channel their wisdom more effectively in their work. For more information, go to the Wisdom Audit webpage or click here to open a new window with the survey link.