The Handbook of Board Governance, 3rd Edition

61Wisdom and the Board: Seeking and Developing Wise Leadership

Chris Anstead, BA, MA, PhD, CDir

Dean of Business, Georgian@ILAC (a public-private partnership between Georgian College and ILAC Higher Education)

As the stunning acceleration of technology reduces the roles of humans in decision-making, the importance of empathetic, ethical, and experienced judgment becomes ever more important in guiding the corporation. The application of wisdom to decisions and challenges is at the heart of the board’s mandate, yet very little work has been done to clarify it. To many directors, it seems enough to say that boards should be “wise.”

Because wisdom seems vague and difficult to identify, it is not usually considered when recruiting for board members or overseeing CEOs. But these are the fundamental responsibilities of a board, and it is important not to overlook anything that could help. Taking on this challenge requires a deeper understanding of wisdom and the components that make it up. Directors with such an understanding will recognize the experiences and training that help people become wise. That will allow them to reward and develop wise leaders in management and to recognize wise candidates for board positions.

What Is Wisdom?

The concept of “wisdom” has existed since prehistoric times and is found in the most ancient human texts. It is common across all human cultures, proving that wisdom is a result of human evolutionary biology. While wisdom is not an artificial construct ...