From Smart to Wise: Acting and Leading with Wisdom

The Limits of a Smart Perspective

The majority of leaders we studied and consulted with operate from a business smart or functional smart perspective. For these leaders, gaining a wiser perspective is a two-step process: acknowledging their smart perspective (and its limitations) and then broadening their perspective to overcome those limitations. Most leaders won’t be motivated to shift their perspective until they realize why remaining primarily in either the blue or the red zone is detrimental to their long-term personal and professional success. Consequently, we first examine in more detail how the perspective of blue zone leaders differs from that of leaders who tend to operate in the red zone.

Leaders who usually operate in the blue zone ...