Judgement and Wisdom

Judgement and Wisdom: The Strengths that Will Help You Navigate a New Business World

So many aspects of our lives have changed dramatically since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and many of us have realised exactly what we take for granted.

For business owners especially, this pandemic has been a white knuckle ride, where many of the old ways of doing things have either been lost or they can no longer be counted on. The only option left is to fall back on your resilience, judgement, and wisdom. This is what will help you make sound decisions, rebuild, and move forward in a new business world.

What is judgement?   

Having good judgement means that you can think things through, see things from all sides, and weigh up options or evidence without jumping to conclusions. It’s about being rational, logical, and willing to change your mind if something new comes to light.

You can already see then, why having good judgement is a great attribute to have if you’re running a business. Being a business owner brings with it a lot of pressure and challenges, especially in times of crisis like this, and all too often, this can make people react without thinking. Good, balanced decisions are not made like this, but they are needed more than ever in challenging times.

This is why judgment is one of the 5 most frequently endorsed strengths. It’s linked to taking perspective, being prudent, honesty, love of learning, and fairness. If you listed the attributes of someone you would want at the helm of a business, steering it through choppy waters, surely some of these would be on the list.

What kind of business owner do you want to be?

For example, a love of learning is about mastering new skills, absorbing knowledge, and persisting in the face of challenges because there is always something that can be learned from them. Is this the kind of business owner you would want to be? Someone who is not afraid of challenges and setbacks because they are not failures, they’re an opportunity to learn?

Or would you want to be a business owner with great perspective? Someone who can look at the big picture and see how you and others contribute? Someone who just seems to view things in a way that makes sense? This is the hallmark of someone with good judgement.

Judgement can also be useful when it comes to correcting faulty thinking and biased opinions. Faulty thinking includes things like only considering the dominant view when it comes to making a decision and disregarding, or paying very little attention to, the less dominant view. Imagine how more effective your decision-making would be if you listened to a range of viewpoints and weighed up all of the evidence fairly, even when it goes against your beliefs or point of view. Considering things from all angles also makes you less susceptible to suggestion and manipulation.

A word on wisdom

Wisdom is difficult to define, but most psychologists agree that wisdom consists of knowledge, experience, and an acceptance that life can be uncertain and has its ups and downs. This is the perfect combination of attributes for a successful business owner.

Wisdom brings with it the ability to provide wise counsel to others, to listen to their point of view, and to see the bigger picture. As a business owner, your employees will look to you for answers, they’ll want to feel listened to, and they’ll want to know that there is a wider mission and bigger goals that they can get behind. Wisdom means you can offer all of this and more.

Peterson and Seligman (2004) describe wisdom as a noble trait that is appreciated by others, and it’s linked to qualities like judgement, hope, bravery, and honesty. It’s little wonder then, that it’s one of the character strengths that’s most associated with a life of engagement.

Wisdom is also linked to positive ageing and is a buffer against stress. People who are wise tend to be optimistic that problems and challenges that come along can be solved, and so they are generally calmer when it comes to making decisions. They don’t react, they look at the bigger picture, retain a sense of perspective, and are also adept at going inward and relying on experience and emotional intelligence.

Both judgement and wisdom involve a combination of experience, an ability to see the bigger picture, and a desire to balance competing demands and goals. If a business owner has both of these strengths, they’ll be able to understand and respect people, and they’ll be open to new ways of thinking and doing things, which will be more important than ever in the coming weeks and months.