From Smart to Wise: Acting and Leading with Wisdom

What Is “Perspective”?

Also known as worldview, mental model, or mind-set, our perspective of the world is based on the sum total of our knowledge and experiences. It defines us, shaping our thoughts and actions because it represents the way we see ourselves and situations, how we judge the relative importance of things, and how we establish a meaningful relationship with everything around us.

Cultivating a wise perspective is the first step toward developing wise leadership capacity. In our research, we found that a shift in perspective tends to occur in two ways: either it is triggered involuntarily by extreme external circumstances like a crisis (desperation), or it is induced voluntarily by a conscious effort to change oneself for the better ...