Lecture looks at wisdom and leadership

Riverside, Calif. (Feb. 9, 2022) – Dr. Doug Wallace discussed the role of wisdom in leadership on Feb. 8 as part of the Dr. Paul and Annie Kienel Leadership Institute's Leadership Seminar Series at California Baptist University.

“Who doesn’t want to be the wisest one in the room?” said Wallace, associate dean for the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at CBU.

He gave a glimpse into the origins of wisdom with quotes from philosophers such as Plato, Socrates and Aristotle. He also mentioned the Bible story in 1 Kings 3:1-15 where God offered King Solomon anything his heart desired and he asked for wisdom.

“With wisdom comes great responsibility,” Wallace said.

Wallace elaborated on the insights into social psychology and how to understand why people behave the way they do. Wisdom is effective decision making, and a wise leader assembles as much knowledge as possible to empower them to make the right decision, he said.

“Wise leaders surround themselves with the best people,” Wallace said. 

Grasping the concept of emotional and social intelligence is key in effective leadership, he said.

“Emotional and social intelligence are more important than IQ in being a leader who connects well with people,'' Wallace said. “The higher emotional intelligence you have, the better leader you can be and [the] more successful at motivating and influencing others.”

Wallace emphasized the ability to be authentic with people and with ourselves in any given situation.

“Hard to do but extremely important,” he said. “Don’t try to be somebody else. People pick up on that.”

While it is important to be able to “read the room” and connect with people, it is of equal value to understand where your individual wisdom and emotional intelligence comes from, Wallace advised.

“The wisest people I know say, ‘I blew it’ and they have a strong sense of their own emotional intelligence,” he said. “To be wise, you have to know about yourself.”

To view the schedule for future leadership seminars, please visit this link.