Leadership is Thoughtful
What do we mean by ‘being thoughtful’, and why should it be one of our eight influential leadership behavioural attributes?
The core of being thoughtful is the human capability that might be the most demanding thing we ever do.
It is not surprising that it is scarce. After all, we know that there is a direct relationship between difficulty and scarcity.
Furthermore, it is one of the arguments put forward for our existence…
Cogito Ergo Sum
It is also the first element in the intellectual foundation of influential leadership, which is our social agency. This ‘thing’ is both necessary and essential for influential leadership to exist.
You will recall that social agency is our capability to:
- think critically,
- choose smartly, and
- act purposefully for productive outcomes
Yes.
To think critically lies at the heart of being thoughtful.
Applying critical thinking implies the use of reason and logic.
If not, what would we apply? Emotion? Instinct? Feeling?
That is not the influential leadership way.
I am relying on the opening and middle of our conversation on being thoughtful in Module 8 of Alpha to set up our Leadership Weekly Note below.
Steven Pinker in his book: Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters (2021) prefaces his work with the following quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.[i]
How all occasions do inform against me,
And spur my dull revenge! What is a man,
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more.
Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,
Looking before and after, gave us not
That capability and god-like reason
To fust in us unused.[ii]
Yes, to be thoughtful is to apply reason.
But, why is it better to be thoughtful than not in matters of leadership (and life)?
Why Critical thinking? An expert psychologist tells Psychlopaedia.
Psychologist Diane Halpern on what critical thinking is, how this skill should be taught and why it is key to thriving in a demanding world.
When we get past the formalities of an academic definition, we can describe critical thinking as a way of thinking about ourselves, the world around us, and what to make of our world. This type of thinking is explained by the adjective ‘critical’ in the sense that it (the thinking) is:
- Analytical (using analysis and logic to reason, and supposing curiosity)
- Diagnostic (being able to identify the nature and cause of something, finding the right question, and attributing the right cause and answer)
- Discriminating (being attentive to and concerned with accuracy and detail in questions and solutions)
- Objective (free from bias and prejudice, fact-based)
- Insightful (having or showing an accurate and deep understanding)
- Intelligent (reasoned thought)
- Rational (justifiable and fact-based)
- Reasoned (awareness of likely consequences).
Thinking in a critical way is focused on curiosity and enquiry, not any form of negativity, as might be implied by other notions of ‘being critical’, such as being derogatory or criticising.
So, to make leadership moments productive—be thoughtful, apply critical thinking!
If you have not yet been on the Alpha Journey, I invite you to come along. Learn to develop and deploy your critical thinking, to make smarter choices and act with greater purpose for your benefit and others’.
It will be great to hear from you.
Regards,
Colin Donian
CEO: Karoo
Leadership is THOUGHTFUL!
[i] Pinker, S. (2021) Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters. Great Britain. Allen Lane.
[ii] William Shakespeare. Hamlet, Act IV, Scene IV.
Leadership Weekly Note: 2523. 190623
e: colind@karoo.world
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