‘Wisdom Work’ > ‘Knowledge Work

At ConantLeadership, we’re committed to lifelong learning and continuous improvement. In service to your leadership growth, each month we curate the Leadership That Works Newsletter, a digest of timely resources from around the web. We prepare this resource in order to:

• Share actionable advice from top leadership luminaries
• Celebrate a range of viewpoints (inclusion is not an endorsement)
• Contextualize workplace trends through a leadership lens
• Illuminate cultural recalibrations in the world of work
• Support your personal development in life, leadership, and beyond

In this month’s Leadership That Works Newsletter: Debunking leadership development myths, why ‘wisdom work’ trumps ‘knowledge work,’ CEO lessons from the CIA, build your ‘not knowing’ tolerance, manage the ‘September Scaries’ and more.

Debunking 4 Leadership Development Myths

‘Wisdom Work’ > ‘Knowledge Work’

“With five generations in the workplace for the first time,” some analysts predict that rampant intergenerational friction will cause problems, says Chip Conley in this Harvard Business Review article. However, he’s observed that conflict is not inevitable: “Symbiotic relationships among the generations can develop in ways that take companies to great heights.” The key? Conley says, “we have to move beyond the obsession with ‘knowledge work,’” and instead embrace the power of “wisdom work.” He notes that digital advancements have made knowledge work less critical: “Anybody with a computer or mobile phone has vast amounts of the world’s knowledge at their disposal, and AI is increasingly able to handle knowledge-based tasks that until just a few years ago only people could perform.” This shift means “there will be less demand for human knowledge—and more for human wisdom.” Conley defines wisdom in a workplace context as “metabolized experience shared with others,” and he shares four benefits of “wisdom work” that can elevate your organization.

Benefit 1. Growing employee retention and satisfaction.

Benefit 2. More productive teams and internal learning.

Benefit 3. Understanding the needs and motivations of your workers.

Benefit 4. Elevating the value of wisdom.

Find a deeper explanation of why “human wisdom provides the ideal workplace balance to the rise of artificial intelligence” as well as recommended “wisdom-management practices” in the full story here.

**For more on this, explore our new limited series, “EQ Answers to AI Questions,” in which ConantLeadership Founder, Doug Conant, applies his thoughtful leadership wisdom, accrued over a 45+ year career, to pressing workplace questions generated by AI.

CEO Lessons from the CIA

In this Chief Executive interview with Rupal Patel, “a former CIA analyst turned CEO,” Patel applies lessons learned from her career in intelligence to the C-suite, offering “strategies to tackle the unpredictable, embrace uncertainty, and make decisions with conviction,” especially when the future is murky. She says her top takeaway from the CIA was the need to accept ambiguity and know “that you won’t always get it right.”
Yes, she says it’s important to gather information and check assumptions, but there will always be things that are “unknowable.” And ultimately you will have to take action rather than getting mired in analysis paralysis.

One way Patel stays focused on a mission is by practicing what she calls “tactical ignorance.” She coined the term as a young CIA analyst preparing for an important briefing with a four-star general. Knowing that she was liable to get psyched out by the hierarchy of all the VIP people in the room, she consciously chose to not learn too much about the general’s team: “Instead, I focused on preparing the best briefing possible . . . and all of the tangible things that I can control instead of the bazillions of things that I can’t.” She says practicing tactical ignorance means “being very intentional about the information you’re letting in” as well as “the information you’re keeping out.”

Patel clarifies that she doesn’t advocate “burying your head in the sand,” or “cherry-picking data,” but rather staying focused on “your delivery, on the value you are adding, and none of the atmospherics, none of the distraction, none of the nonsense.” She adds that practicing tactical ignorance applies to the competitive landscape too: Too many organizations become transfixed with what other companies are doing when the most important thing to remember is: “You can only deliver on your promise, on your vision, on your values, on your product, on your services.” Get the full story here.

**For more on this, explore our leadership resource about thoughtfully managing your “circle of concern,” your “circle of  influence,” and your “circle of control.“

Build Your ‘Not Knowing’ Tolerance

“The people around us are walking around with valuable insights and information,” but “in order to access it, we have to cultivate a tolerance for not knowing,” writes Jeff Wetzler in this excerpt from his book, Ask: Tap into the Hidden Wisdom of People around You for Unexpected Breakthroughs in Leadership and Life. In Wetzler’s over thirty years consulting to top executives, he’s observed “just how often people fail to learn from those around them,” because they are uncomfortable in a not-knowing role. However, Wetzler says, “when people do manage to overcome this problem, it opens up whole new levels of learning, growth, and connection.” In fact, he says, the ability to learn from other people is a “concrete skill set” that can help leaders make “smarter decisions,” and build better relationships. Wetzler offers five steps to develop your ability to learn from others.

1. Choose curiosity. “Without the ability to get truly curious about what you don’t know, you’ll never ask the questions you need to find out.”

2. Make it safe. “In order for people to speak up, they need to believe that you will not judge, shame, or punish them for sharing openly with you.”

3. Pose quality questions. Good questions “signal true curiosity, reflecting a genuine intent to learn from and understand the other person—not to prove a point or influence or fix them.”

4. Listen to learn. “It’s easy to feel like you’re listening, when what you’re really doing is waiting quietly until it’s your turn to respond . . . remind yourself that your only goal is to understand what the other person is trying to share with you.”

5. Reflect and reconnect. “You might be tempted to immediately begin fixing or solving or even apologizing.” Instead, “take a beat so you can reflect on what you heard and what it means . . . Once you’ve reflected, share what you’ve learned and what you plan to do next with the person.”

Get the full story and more actionable tips here.

**For more on this, check out our leadership resource, “Humility Is the Key to Building Authentic Leadership Connection.”

Employee Satisfaction vs Employee Engagement

“Two concepts that are often confused but are also intertwined are employee satisfaction and employee engagement,” writes Erik van Vulpen in this Academy to Innovate HR (AIHR) explainer. Many workplaces conflate the related metrics or try to measure only one or the other. Van Vulpen says the confusion is understandable; while the two concepts are similar, “they actually measure different outcomes.” Employee satisfaction applies to “how happy an employee is with their job and work environment,” but doesn’t necessarily measure employee behavior. Whereas, employee engagement specifically refers to the way employees show up at work: “In engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances.” Engaged employees show tangible “dedication and enthusiasm,” but merely satisfied employees may not evidence their happiness by going “over and beyond their call of duty.” The key then is “harnessing” satisfaction to transform it into engagement. One lays the groundwork for the other: “Employee satisfaction can be considered a prerequisite or a base for employee engagement.” In other words, not all satisfied employees are engaged, but all engaged employees are likely to have a baseline level of satisfaction. Get the full story here.

**For more on this, explore our library of interviews with top-performing contemporary leaders who offer experience-backed advice for engaging the modern workforce.

Versatility Is the New Competitive Advantage

“Some of the most innovative and creative people in history succeeded because they were versatile. They were able to master more than one discipline and then combine them to forge new ideas and inventions,” write the authors of this McKinsey piece about how leaders can thrive in the modern age. The authors observe that leaders today are navigating a landscape with unprecedented variety, uncertainty, and demand including from ‘”supply chain disruptions, inflation, political polarization, and global unrest,” as well as dramatic technological changes, complex “generational differences in the workforce,” and “an ever-expanding lineup of constituents” applying pressure. To meet the challenge of an endlessly dynamic world, leaders must become more dynamic themselves. The authors say that the best leaders leverage versatility as a competitive advantage and, in particular, they are versatile in three critical ways: “They have pursued diverse experiences in their careers, they are constantly curious to learn new things, and they have mastered the dynamics of interacting with a variety of stakeholders.” The authors outline three key behaviors that versatile leaders use to “know how to go broad, when to go deep, and how and when to expand their range.”

1. Do what feels uncomfortable. To succeed, leaders “should make sure they put themselves into a range of environments, situations, and challenges where they can grow a varied set of skills.”

2. Go deep. “A variety of operating skills is the first prerequisite for cultivating versatility. The second is to be a deep, creative thinker. . . versatile leaders must think deeply about what makes an organization tick and its different capabilities and assets.”

3. Know when to speak up. Versatile leaders need “the skills to communicate where a business stands politically, socially, and on environmental issues,” and also the discernment to understand when speaking up is or isn’t wise. It’s important to “establish guidelines on when to speak out and when to keep silent” on controversial issues.

Find a deeper explanation of leadership versatility in the full story here.

**For more on developing the breadth of your skills, explore our recent resource on how to unlock your limitless leadership potential.

Why the Office ‘Workhorse’ Doesn’t Always Win

Have you ever toiled thanklessly for a company without getting ahead? You may unwittingly have made yourself the “office workhorse,” says Rachel Feintzeig’s coverage in this Wall Street Journal piece. She says that workhorses’ internal monologues may go something like this: “We’re the ones picking up the slack when teammates fall short, the ones the boss calls when she needs something done fast, or last minute, or after hours,” and despite all that dedication, “still we aren’t the stars.” Experts say the problem isn’t that you’re working too hard (or not hard enough), it’s that you’re not effectively communicating the value of your commitment to key decision makers: “Anyone can grind it out” and put in extra effort but “to get that next job or big, high-profile project, you have to be known for more than long hours. You have to change how your colleagues and bosses see you.” To start, think about how you are telling the story of your role, even in small interactions: “The next time a colleague stops to chitchat in the hallway or asks how you are, don’t say ‘fine’ or ‘busy,’” which are far too vague. Instead, take the opportunity to celebrate your contributions by sharing a “recent win and its impact.” If you suspect you’re the office workhorse—useful but overlooked—reflect on “what positive parts of your work are invisible to others,” and start being intentional about making those things visible. Get the full story here.

Managing the ‘September Scaries’

If you’re familiar with the phrase “Sunday Scaries” in the pop culture lexicon—a sinking feeling of anxiety about impending responsibilities as the weekend draws to a close—then you may not be surprised that some have dubbed the final days of August, the last gasp of summer, as the “September Scaries.” Elizabeth Angell explains in this New York Times coverage that the September Scaries are “a combination of dread, regret, and anticipation that accompanies the end of a communal pause and the beginning of a hectic and demanding time.”

While it’s natural to mourn longer days and a collective sense of summery ease, there are ways to ease the transition into fall. Angell recommends starting with self-reflection: “If you find yourself mired in malaise and panic, a good first step is to figure out exactly what is bothering you,” because there are a variety of solutions depending on your specific worry. For example, if it’s an overwhelming to-do list that’s giving you butterflies, you can try transforming the list into a “to-do matrix” that allows you to prioritize tasks based on urgency and makes it feel more manageable. If you’re feeling the squeeze of less leisure time and activities, “it can also help to make some fun plans for fall,” says Angell. She quotes research that shows “people who can anticipate positive things—even small things like a date with a friend, or a recipe they want to try—are more resilient in the face of stressors.” Finally, Angell advises, “don’t fight it.” The fear is usually worse than reality: “Beginning a new project—or in this case, a new season—is the hardest part, but once it’s underway, it becomes easier. ” Get the full story here.

Insights & Resources from ConantLeadership

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25 Quotes about Managing Change

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Doug Conant on the Down 40 Love Podcast

In this conversation with René Vidal on his Down 40 Love podcast, Doug Conant shares tips for embracing your leadership story, getting unstuck, and making an impact.

July’s Leadership That Works Newsletter

In last month’s newsletter: Help people find their ‘inner CEO,’ 8 principles for innovation, how to keep growing, the right way to celebrate, why boards pick the wrong CEOs, future-proof your mindset, and more.

Announcing the Lineup for the Fall BLUEPRINT Leadership Summit

About the Author: Amy Federman is ConantLeadership’s Director of Content and Editor in Chief, and co-author with Doug Conant of the WSJ bestseller, The Blueprint.

(Header photo by Carlos Felipe Ramírez Mesa on Unsplash)