“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”  ~Thomas Jefferson

Being a leader means you must constantly work at acquiring both wisdom and experience throughout your career if you are to help others achieve success. That said…

Let’s first define wisdom which is simply, “the state of being wise.”  

Following that path leads us to the definition of wise, “having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right.”

And that’s where it seems to get a little bit tricky for me. So who discerns what is true or right? As a leader is it always you who is right? Or are their times when the people you support happen to be more right than you?

Interestingly, I know a few folks and a couple leaders who seem to be quite comfortable justifying certain behaviors that most folks would say are either unacceptable, fall into the category of being an untruth, or are just plain wrong.

Times Change Views Change

Have you ever found yourself at one time or another reflecting back on past decisions that you made that ended up being completely wrong or that you deeply regretted? Decisions, that if you had more experience and/or more knowledge at that time, you would have made a completely different decision? A wiser decision?

You see, I have always believed that wisdom was gained through the acquisition of knowledge & experience over the course of a lifetime. The more knowledge we acquire and the more experiences we have the wiser we should become.

But then I read Thomas Jefferson’s words when he said “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”

And that got me thinking…you can have all the knowledge and experience in the world, but if you don’t have honesty, it really doesn’t matter!

So I found myself thinking about the topic of honesty. More directly, whether I am completely honest in all situations 100% of the time.

The Honesty – Wisdom Challenge

I started thinking about a few areas in my life that I could look at on a daily basis in my quest to be achieve higher levels of wisdom.

Below is a list of 3 questions that I am asking myself at the end of each day for a 2 week period:

1. Did I tell the microscopic truth in all of my interactions with others today – Microscopic truth means I don’t intentionally leave out details or important parts of the conversation to protect my image, reputation, or ego.
2. Did I speak the facts today when speaking about others – Sometimes I find that I am listening to and or speaking opinions about others that I do not know for a fact to be 100% true, maybe you do the same thing?
3. Was I completely honest with myself and others when it comes to how and with who I spent my time today? Have you ever found yourself wasting large swathes of valuable time doing meaningless things or agreeing to do something with someone even though you really didn’t want to be there? I have and I guess that can be considered a form of not being honest with ourselves or the other person.

A Perfect World

In a perfect world, we would be completely honest with ourselves and others in every minute of everyday and of our lives. I don’t think many of us intentionally lie or shade the truth very often, although their are some folks who have difficulty telling the truth at times for a number of reasons.

I just think that sometimes we unconsciously say things in the moment that aren’t 100% right or true, especially when speaking about others or in difficult situations.

I don’t know that we can achieve perfection, but maybe we could just strive to keep getting better.

You see for me it is about increasing my capacity for wisdom. And while I am accumulating knowledge and experiences each and everyday, I need to work even harder to be speak honestly and truthfully to myself and others, especially when it is difficult!

I believe you cannot be an extraordinary leader without wisdom…and you cannot have wisdom without honesty. Wisdom goes beyond knowledge and experience..

So what about you?

I challenge you, no…better yet, I double-dog dare you to take the Honesty-Wisdom Challenge for the next 2 weeks.

All you need to do is commit to answering the 3 questions above at the end of each and everyday for the next 14 days and then see what changes in your life.

Who knows you may end up being as wise as Solomon and as Honest as Abe Lincoln in just 14 short days!

Till Next Time!