Lead with Wisdom: How Wisdom Transforms Good Leaders into Great Leaders

Table of contents

1. Cover
2. Title page
3. Copyright page
4. Dedication
5. Introduction
6. Part I: Wisdom and Leadership
   1. The Story Behind Wisdom and Leadership
   2. Chapter 1: Wisdom
      1. Wisdom is the stuff of life
      2. Wisdom is close at hand
      3. The Priority of Wisdom
      4. A useful distinction: Wisdom is observation and insight, not law, morality, or formula
      5. Wisdom reads well the patterns of life
      6. Watch life’s patterns and learn
      7. Words change things
      8. The Big Idea of the One and Many
      9. How to Pick a Split World
      10. Abstraction, or the curse of the school project
      11. Wisdom Translates Well the Patterns of Life
      12. Translating takes perspective
      13. Three Tests for Strategy
      14. Wisdom stays open to the patterns of life
      15. Attention is as varied as we are
      16. Thoughts on Attentiveness
      17. Wisdom lives the patterns with integrity
      18. Wisdom lives the patterns with care
   3. Chapter 2: Leadership
      1. Leading well is bringing wisdom to life
      2. It’s a cliché, but leading is a journey
      3. Authority and character are always in the mix
      4. A useful distinction: Formal authority extends to lists. Informal authority extends to hearts and minds.
      5. A Tale of Mana
      6. Qualities that Shape a Group
      7. Deep Character
      8. Blessing expresses deep intent
      9. Build on Brilliance
      10. Create the space to find voice
      11. Truth, Beauty, Goodness & Living Well
      12. Leaders (Re)Shape the System
      13. Leaders who Lead Learners
      14. Failure is an anvil for wisdom
7. Part II: Patterns
   1. The Story Behind Patterns
   2. Chapter 3: Naming
      1. We live and lead in language
      2. How Naming Can Transform
      3. A useful distinction: Naming is letting meaning unfold in language, not forcing precision through definition
      4. Language shapes reality
      5. Naming is more than positivity
      6. Naming and maturity
      7. The Significance of Naming our Past Well
      8. Strong naming subverts clichés
      9. Behind the Idea of Naming Stand Some Significant Thinkers
      10. Naming complexity by systems
      11. Poets, Wizards, and Misfits
      12. The Unusual Story of Naming as Learning
      13. Hunting for a name
   3. Chapter 4: Conversation
      1. We construct meaning in conversation
      2. A useful distinction: Conversation is not the same as communication
      3. Meaning unfolds in relationship
      4. Two Roads for Engagement
      5. We know by indwelling
      6. How We know Shapes how we Talk
      7. Conversation brings strength
      8. Breakdown enables new meaning
      9. Breakdown enables new meaning
      10. Maintain commitment
      11. Moving to questions
      12. The Arts of Asking Grounded Questions
      13. How One School Began its Transformation
      14. Living Conversation
      15. There’s no point talking to …!
      16. Sustain core conversations
      17. Champion strategic conversations
   4. Chapter 5: Influence
      1. To lead is to influence
      2. The Story of Joshua Chamberlain
      3. A useful distinction: Position influences compliance. Character influences hearts and minds.
      4. The boundaries of influence
      5. Commitment and Meaning Enable Influence
      6. Building relationship
      7. When we Hear Each Other
      8. The Ancient Arts to Invent and Persuade
      9. All it takes is little hinges
      10. Influence in social systems
      11. The Power of Positive Deviants
      12. Character shapes influence
   5. Chapter 6: Character
      1. Character rests on dignity
      2. Reflections on Dignity
      3. Nobility and humility express character
      4. A useful distinction: Personality expresses individuality. Character is the substance beneath it.
      5. Daughter of the Killing Fields Theary Chan Seng
      6. Character holds the will
      7. Two Visions of Life a Tale of Two Trees
      8. Brokenness
      9. ‘I wronged you. Period’.
      10. Choosing character
      11. Imagining your end
      12. Growing in character
8. Part III: Arts
   1. The Story Behind Arts
   2. Chapter 7: Story
      1. Story is the stuff of life
      2. A useful distinction: Abstractions claim certainty by ignoring people and context. Stories enable clarity by engaging people and context.
      3. ‘Storied’ thinking
      4. Faith, Hope, and Love as Storied Ways of Knowing
      5. Story and identity
      6. Story and relationship
      7. Story and culture
      8. What History Offers Us
      9. Drawing out stories
      10. A Storied Approach to Change
      11. Stories unlock value
      12. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
      13. A storied approach to strategy
      14. Images of a storied heart and mind
      15. And then we Speak
   3. Chapter 8: Brilliance
      1. We all shine somewhere
      2. A useful distinction: Brilliance is ability, heart, and mind expressed uniquely. Conformity shrinks each.
      3. Everyone can shine
      4. [Not so] Everyday Brilliance
      5. Our stories hold the clues
      6. An Exercise to Map your Brilliance
      7. Unpacking the exercise
      8. Introducing the BrQ©™® Brilliance Quotient
      9. Brilliant by design
      10. Unlikely brilliance
      11. A timely word can release brilliance
      12. A Wildly Generalised History of Brilliance
      13. Finding Brilliance in Craft
      14. Mapping Reputation
   4. Chapter 9: Promise
      1. A strong and true word of hope
      2. A useful distinction: A promise speaks truth with hope. A platitude is a banal wish.
      3. Words that kill strategic capacity
      4. How words can limit life
      5. Calling false and weak behaviour
      6. Promise strengthens interpretation
      7. What Do you See?
      8. Clarity and Respect in Straight Talk
      9. Enabling Robust Meetings
      10. A Model for Speaking Life into Strategy
      11. Reflections on the Idea of Transformation
      12. Ripple of hope
   5. Chapter 10: Grace
      1. Grace is the ‘yes’ of life
      2. Grace is a radical idea
      3. A useful distinction: Grace subverts status
      4. A further distinction: Rank is responsibility. Status is self-interest.
      5. Grace reframes strength
      6. A Tale of the Harmony of Grace
      7. Grace: How to Use the Arts
      8. Exploring the Practical Insights of Grace in Business
      9. Let it go
      10. When rights are not enough
      11. Peering into the Puzzle of Grace Upon Grace
      12. Growing in grace
9. Part IV: Applying the Patterns and Arts
   1. The Story Behind Application
   2. Chapter 11: Leader’s Journey
      1. We need to know our stories
      2. This is Mark’s Story
      3. We need to make sense of our stories
      4. Look for the Patterns and the Arts
   3. Chapter 12: Leading One
      1. We enter the other’s story
      2. Mark on Mark and Luke’s Story
      3. Luke on Mark and Luke’s Story
      4. We need to make sense of our stories
      5. Look for the Patterns and the Arts
   4. Chapter 13: Leading Many
      1. We embody the story and sustain the conversation
      2. The Surprising Untold Story of Paul
      3. We need to make sense of our stories
      4. Look for the Patterns and the Arts
10. Conclusion
11. Acknowledgements
12. Endnotes