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  • May 2011
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

The Wise Leader

By: Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

In an era of increasing discontinuity, wise leadership has nearly vanished. Many leaders find it difficult to reinvent their corporations rapidly enough to cope with new technologies, demographic shifts, and consumption trends. They can't develop truly global organizations that operate effortlessly across borders. And they find it tough to ensure that their people adhere to values and ethics. The world needs leaders who pursue the common good by striving to create social as well as economic value and who pair micromanagement with big-picture aspirations about the future. The authors, who have studied, taught, and interviewed executives in some of the world's leading companies, assert that such leaders must acquire practical wisdom, or what Aristotle called phronesis: experiential knowledge that enables people to make ethically sound judgments. Wise leaders demonstrate six abilities. They make decisions on the basis of what is good for the organization and for society. They quickly grasp the essence of a situation and fathom the nature and meaning of people, things, and events. They provide contexts in which executives and employees can interact to create new meaning. Phronetic leaders use metaphors and stories to convert their experience into tacit knowledge that others can use. They exert political power to bring people together and spur them to act. And wise leaders use apprenticeship and mentoring to cultivate practical wisdom in others.

Keywords

Communication Intention and Meaning; Interpersonal Communication; Experience and Expertise; Values and Beliefs; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leadership; Leadership Development; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Personal Characteristics; Power and Influence

Citation

Nonaka, Ikujiro, and Hirotaka Takeuchi. "The Wise Leader." Harvard Business Review 89, no. 5 (May 2011).
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About The Author

Hirotaka Takeuchi

Strategy
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More from the Authors

    • Fall 2021
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    • 2020
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    By: Hirotaka Takeuchi
More from the Authors
  • Strategy as a Way of Life: Businesses Must Root Strategy in Moral Purpose to Thrive in a Complex, Rapidly Changing World By: Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi
  • Humanizing Strategy By: Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi
  • Humanizing Management and Innovation By: Hirotaka Takeuchi
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