Which is more important for a leader: Intelligence or Wisdom?

Should we consider our Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew as having intelligence or wisdom? Many people cannot distinguish between the two: intelligence and wisdom. Wisdom is defined as a social, interpersonal form of knowledge that allows people to deal with decisions and dilemmas appropriately, practice good emotional control and handle interpersonal relationships well. Intelligence is otherwise defined as a non-social form of knowledge that can be acquired through education(Hall, 2007). Based on the definitions, people holding leadership positions should have wisdom as a more important pre-requisite than intelligence.

Wisdom is a personal characteristic that allows an individual to deal with dilemmas and make decisions effectively and appropriately. It also allows one to exercise good emotional control and handle interpersonal relationships well. Wisdom is usually acquired through personal encounter with failures. Lessons learnt fron these setbacks can be used in future to weigh every situation carefully and make careful judgement before making the correct decision. Furthermore, wisdom is needed by a person to give clear instructions with regards to each step of a solution provided for a problem. In addition, good emotional control is also an important aspect of wisdom that allows one to interact effectively and build good interpersonal relationships with people. Thus wisdom plays an important role in the social aspect of everyday life.

Intelligence is another personal characteristic that represents a non-social form of knowledge. It can be acquired through education. This form of knowledge provides theoretical concepts needed to solve a problem. However, it does not teach us how to handle problems in real life especially when it involves social aspects like controlling emotions and interacting with people. With intelligence, one can effectively solve a problem in an ideal manner. However, real life situations are much more complex and are more varied. Hence, intelligence may not allow a person to solve a problem effectively.

Wisdom, by comparison, plays a more important role for people in leadership as compared to intelligence. A leader needs intelligence, but he/she needs more wisdom to establish good relationship with its followers in order to convey his/her message and instructions across. He/she needs to make decisions that are beneficial to his/her followers. Taking Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew for example, he is able to lead his people and provide effective solutions to every problem. He wins the respect of the people because he understands the needs of the people. He is appreciative of the cultures and background of the different races in Singapore. Thus, he can be considered as a good leader. Therefore, a leader, especially a good leader, should acquire the characteristics of wisdom.

In conclusion, a good leader should have intelligence but he/she needs more wisdom to deal with situations effectively and maintain good relationships with his/her people. In this way, the people can then respect him/her and are more willing to serve him/her and follow his/her instructions.

Reference:
Hall, S.S. (2007, May 8) Wisdom comes with age? Not true. The Straits Times

Recycling in Japan and India

Recycling is an important aspect in maintaining environmental sustainability in the long run by reducing the amount of waste. However, if we were to examine the approach towards recycling between a developed and a developing country, we would find that the concepts adopted are different.

According to Srinivas (n.d.), Japan, being a developed nation, is focusing on the 3R approach: reduce, reuse and recycle. With the assistance of science and technology, this 3R initiative has been successful in reducing the consumption of natural resources. Raising public awareness on recycling through education is also important as the public has to be aware of the importance of conservation. In addition, the Japanese government strictly enforces the recycling laws. As a whole, Japan has made the 3R approach successful through the combined effort of the government and the ordinary citizens.

However, in developing countries such as India, there is a lack of public awareness on the need for conservation. Gupta (2004) recognised that whilst recycling is important in conserving the finite natural resources, the lack of technology would result in the difficulty in execution of recycling programmes that requires advanced technology. Thus, incineration would probably remain as the main practice in India. The disparity in the methods adopted may be attributed to the difference in level of development of the nations. Due to the constraint on the finite resources, the need for recycling is undeniable.

References:

Gupta S.K. (2004, April). Rethinking waste management. Retrieved February 15, 2008, from http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/apr/env-rethink.htm

Srinivas, H. (n.d.). Inspiring Ideas from Japan's 3R Initiative. Retrieved February 15, 2008, from http://www.gdrc.org/uem/waste/3r-insipiring-ideas.html