Georgeena found an interesting article on critical thinking that relates to wisdom and integrity. She defined critical thinking then drew links to Northouse’s core traits of leadership including self-confidence, intelligence, determination, integrity, and sociability (Northouse, 2017: p.23-25). Northouse’s leadership traits are significantly interconnected with wisdom, excellence, and integrity.
Undoubtedly, acquiring the ability to make quality judgments through the medium of critical thinking increases wisdom because an individual is learning through others’ store of knowledge and experience. In addition, it requires that an individual embody self-confidence whereby he or she does not cling tightly to long-held beliefs that the ego may try to protect. Critical thinking forces leaders to be open-minded, recognizing that others may have a better understanding. However, others must trust the leader to share their perspective; this requires that the leader displays sociability. Critical thinking requires relentless determination to discover the truth of the matter. Furthermore, humility and intelligence to understand that one’s perception of the world is inevitably skewed. As the Socrates stated, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing” (Lodhi, 2018). Evidently, true wisdom is found by being radically open-minded and recognizing that unlocking the knowledge in others is the key to excellence. Enduring success cannot be maintained unless a leader has his or her decisions rooted in integrity. In every decision, integrity must be the backbone. Ultimately, by becoming a better decision-maker, the discipline of excellence becomes reachable for a leader.
I thoroughly enjoyed Georgeena’s post as it inspired me to make connections between Northouse’s core leadership traits and critical thinking that I would not have made otherwise. I will take these newfound connections and weave them into my critical thinking assignment. Looking forward to reading more posts Georgeena!
Christina
Lodhi, A. (2018, June 2). Socrates on Wisdom. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/indian-thoughts/the-only-true-wisdom-is-in-knowing-you-know-nothing-5789c8994cc6
Northouse, P. G. (2017). Leadership: theory and practice (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.