I am assuming that you are wise for the simple fact you are reading this blog. Wise people are not perfect, they are simply trying to learn, grow and develop. The distinction of a wise person is that they are not happy where they are and they want to improve so that their lives improve. Wisdom is putting knowledge into action. Most people in leadership positions can be counted wise. Because if they are either foolish or evil they won't stay in leadership positions for very long. I would go as far as to say, if you want to be a leader the pursuit of wisdom must be at the center of your personal development plan.
Traits of a wise person
- Open to growth
- Loves to learn
- Practices or applies what they learn
- Constantly analyzes what they do and why they do it
- Seeks to help others grow
- Seeks out input and information from others (especially those ahead of them)
- Takes criticism as the potential for growth
- Is comfortable with the boundaries of life.
The problem is that we tend to expect other people to seek after wisdom just like we do. If we are dealing with someone who is foolish or evil, we have this natural expectation that they will receive information, criticism, feedback, knowledge and act on it the same way we do. We go to a training seminar and leave energized and a person sitting next to us was bored out of their mind. We give someone a deadline without much direction and we expect them to go learn what they need to know, develop and grow so they can complete the task. Wise people assume other people will grow, self develop and not need much direction, correction or motivation. That is simply not the case. Foolish and evil people react much differently to life than wise people.
Traits of Foolish Person
- Basically good
- Probably a blast to hang out with in High School and College
- Not into planning growth or development
- Think highly of their own opinion
- Rationalize or blame others quickly when things go wrong
- Not into taking personal responsibility
- Miss deadlines
- Think boundaries apply to everyone else
- Do not reply to communication
- Not out to hurt anyone intentionally - but they will.
I do not think anyone would like to be considered foolish. However so many people are because becoming wise is an intentional process which one must enter. Foolish people are generally fun to be around but they can drive you crazy if you are a wise person and they are under your supervision. Foolish people do not like to plan and so they plan to fail. They usually are talented and good-hearted, but their talent and fun loving nature can only take them so far before they start blowing assignments, missing deadlines and make mistakes. These problems start adding up and others around that person are forced to pick up the slack or they receive blame from the foolish person. If you expect the foolish person to be self-motivated or into growing and developing you will expend a tremendous amount of time and emotional energy. You can't change a foolish person into a wise person, that is a choice they have to make.
The only way to deal with a foolish person is to give very (and I do mean where you go over several times) clear expectations, guidelines, deadlines and consequences for failing any of the aforementioned. Foolish people generally don't get that there is a problem until it is too late, clients are lost, people get hurt, money is wasted, opportunity is gone. The cost of being foolish is very high. In order to work with a foolish person specific dates, tight supervision and heavy accountability are needed. A fool is not seeking wisdom and so there are problems at the core of their lives. One of the difficult evaluations that has to be made with foolish people, is if they will ever turn the corner and begin seeking to be wise. Until this is done, clarifying expectations is really the only way to work with a foolish person.
The question you as a leader have to answer with the foolish person is: does this person add enough value to what we do for me to expend the amount of energy on them to get them to do their job? If the answer is no, then the hard conversation comes next.
Evil people may be the easiest to deal with, because you simply don't .
Traits of Evil People
- Pathological
- Look to harm, enjoy harming others
- Not a good person
- No sense of morality
- Greedy - and will attempt to gain by any method
- No thought of boundaries, enjoys breaking boundaries
When you interact with an evil person, you can tell it very quickly. There is no sense of right and wrong and the desire to get ahead even at the expense of others becomes apparent soon. The only way to deal with evil people is to flee, Proverbs says 'hold back your foot from their path.' You never want to walk alongside, in front of, or behind an evil person. When you come across an evil person and have to deal with them, get a lawyer to be the intermediary, draw up contracts, get restraining orders, protect yourself, your business and your loved ones. Luckily I have rarely dealt with evil people, however understanding that I do not have to deal with them is freeing in and of itself.
Once you can learn to see what type of person you are dealing with you can begin to protect your emotions from leading your leadership. Once I started thinking about people in these categories I stopped getting frustrated with foolish people and began creating pathways they could succeed and in a couple instances removed them from the project, much to the benefit of the project. Knowing who you are dealing with helps you to know how to deal with a person and that is a wise lesson to learn.
(Although I am a student of Proverbs, I have to give credit to Henry Cloud for the organization of the original thought for this post. His ideas on Wise, Foolish and Evil people I heard while listening to his audio book, Necessary Endings, which I highly recommend.)
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