Will the Wise Please Stand Up
Wisdom, Intuition and Creativity in an AI-Infused World of Work
I was listening to a podcast last week and was struck by the realisation that generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will be the first generation that will never be more intelligent (as in IQ) than AI.
The famous line in Mary Oliver’s poem “The Summer Day” popped into my mind as I wondered what GenA will “plan to do with their one wild and precious life” and how different their lives might be.
Will AI make a Universal Basic Income inevitable? Will they embrace or reject Computer Brain Interfaces? And will they use AI to tackle the significant, pressing environmental and social issues of our times? One thing I am sure of is that our enduring humanity, what drives us and our way of being in the world and with each other, will remain consistent. Consistently human.
As much as I loathe starting a leadership thought piece with AI, the pace of technological advancements gives us a window of clarity on what we (older) humans need to focus on right now.
Of late, I’ve been paying attention to major organisations signalling growth and agility with new products, services, and significant hires while quietly shedding jobs. Last week, the people in a top team I’m working with were made redundant, despite exceeding their 2024 targets and having excellent performance reviews. I don’t know who was more surprised—me or them.
Organisations are recalibrating, realigning, and restructuring, and from a big-picture perspective, so they must. As markets are rearranged and old jobs disappear, new ones are being created. The convergence of human potential and AI is already upon us!
When the signals of change are clear, ignoring them comes at a cost. The thinking, skills and competencies needed in our businesses - which we might have considered ‘soft skills’ five to ten years ago - are now, without doubt, essential. I explored 22 of these in my book, including critical thinking, working with ambiguity and being emotionally and mentally adaptable, and wove the threads throughout the chapters.
While these essential skills won’t “future-proof” your career or organisation (nothing is future-proof), they will elevate how you think about and (re)frame events and situations as they arise and actively shape your future.
The innate human capabilities of Wisdom, Intuition and Creativity are top of mind. If you just switched off, stay with me for a minute! Today, these are vital if you want/need to be innovative and change/transform anything from your career to your business. And they couldn’t be more important in a global context that is constantly in flux.
Wisdom
Socrates said it best when he declared, "To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom." He also proclaimed, "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing", which always puts things into perspective!
Leading in an ever-changing context isn't a minefield when we know ourselves well enough to get our egos out of the way. Easier said than done when tricky events and situations challenge all we believe to be right, true or real.
“You can't calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass”.
Timber Hawkeye
In business, people who embody wisdom are often considered trusted advisers as they handle problems others might find overwhelming. We also witness wisdom in leaders who act on their values and ethics, even when it's unpopular or difficult. They make decisions based on the right thing to do rather than what's quick and easy or popular.
Can you think of someone like this? I certainly can. Wise leaders tend to stand out, and we aspire to work with and be more like them.
So, how can we intentionally cultivate wisdom in ourselves? A good place to start is at the core of wisdom, that of knowing yourself well. And then intentionally working on those things that may be inadvertently holding you back.
In his book Wiser, Dilip Jeste, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at UC San Diego, outlines nine parts to wisdom. I’ve turned these into questions to ask yourself when looking back at the events of each day:
Was I empathetic, compassionate and concerned for the wellbeing of others?
Did I recognise and understand my and other people's emotions and maintain my emotional stability, even in a tricky situation?
Was I open to evaluating different options, considering potential outcomes and making decisions based on the available evidence even in ambiguity?
Did I consider multiple perspectives and accept differing viewpoints in light of new information, even when they were contrary to my beliefs or opinions?
Did I provide guidance, support and constructive feedback to others in a way that fosters their personal growth and development, aligned with their values and goals?
How easy is it for me to engage in introspection, recognise my strengths and weaknesses and learn from my experiences?
Am I easily able to find meaning and purpose in life, whether it’s based on my beliefs, values or a sense of belonging to a community?
Am I open to new experiences, and if so, what evidence of this have I shown?
Am I able to find my sense of humour, even under challenging conditions?
The last point is, in my view, crucial. If we’re able to laugh at the ridiculousness of events, situations and our own conditioned responses to things, it means we are open to all of the other points. Open to becoming wiser.
Intuition
We’ve emerged from a time when various experts actively discouraged people from trusting their insight and intuition, preferring to pursue scientific discovery, logic and reasoning. However, our intuition or that little voice of truth, which often whispers rather than shouts, is the very thing that sparks the creative process. It's a uniquely human capability becoming increasingly important in our digitised, AI-infused world.
Albert Einstein described intuition best:
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift."
When we consider that AI can/will do the “rational” part better than we can, focusing on fostering and trusting our intuition becomes ever more important.
Great questions to ask yourself and make a note of when looking back at your day are:
Did my intuition have something to say about an event or situation?
If so, what was it?
Did I act on it or ignore it?
Once a week, go back to your notes and get curious; look for evidence. Was your intuition spot on? Did you sense something that you ignored at your peril? Keep doing this as a weekly exercise… the closer you get to listening to and trusting your intuition, the more you’ll find it works wonders for you.
Creativity
All human endeavours that give rise to something novel or innovative are creative, and the demand for creativity in our world of work is at an all-time high.
Contrary to the beliefs many of us grew up with, intelligence, as in IQ, is not the be-all and end-all of success. Some of the most outstanding human achievements have relied primarily on creativity and imagination.
Creativity may be one of the most important innate gifts we all have, yet we don’t find it easy to rationalise or define. One minute, we have nothing, a blank screen or piece of paper; the next, we have an idea we can develop into something extraordinary.
What happened in between? What led to that divine moment of creativity?
One of the keys to being creative is connecting different domains of knowledge, especially ones that are not usually related. Think about combining a videotape store with Amazon and Priority Mail, and you get Netflix. It’s where most novel businesses, services, and products arise from.
At its core, creativity is breaking away from conventional or established thinking patterns and exploring alternative perspectives and possibilities. Or as Iain McGilchrist, the Psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher and author so eloquently said, creativity is:
If you’re still with me, I’m sure you’ve gathered that creativity, wisdom and trusting your intuition are all intertwined. Many of the questions we asked ourselves about becoming wiser can be repurposed here.
As ever, the key is evidence - ask yourself:
Where did I see things differently?
Did I investigate beyond the obvious/ what is already known?
Did I actively seek out alternative perspectives and possibilities?
Did my intuition hint that there’s more to be explored, and did I listen?
If the answer to all of the above happens to be “no”, simply ask yourself “, Why not?” The idea here is to become aware of any beliefs or biases that may be holding you back so that you can do something about them.
To put all of this into context, I’ll leave you with an expansive reflection from Professor Brian Cox, Astrophysicist and Musician:
“There is only one interesting question in philosophy… what does it mean to live a finite, fragile life in an infinite, eternal universe?”
Is there someone you know who would benefit from reading this? If so, please share it with them. And as ever, get in touch if you’d like to explore working with me.
Until next time, take good care of yourself.
Best, Louise
Useful Links
More Depth
If you’re reading Relevant: Future-Focused Leadership, you’ll find more depth on the topics I’ve mentioned:
22 Essential Skills: Part 1, Chapter 1: Being Future-Fit
Wisdom: Part 1, Chapter 3: Becoming Wiser
Intuition: Part II, Chapter 7: Trust Your Intuition
Creativity: Part II, Chapter 7: The Creative Itch