Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.
-Marian Wright Edelman
Knowledge and learning are great objectives. Information can illuminate our understanding and create opportunities for us to grow professionally and personally. However, knowledge is not enough if we want it to have true value.
Wisdom creates the greatest value for ourselves and those around us. Wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge in a given time and place. Wisdom is born out of experience, out of mentoring/coaching, and discernment of what is the best process for the situation you are facing. There are multiple ways to achieve something, but not all those options will be as effective.
Here are some questions that turn knowledge into wisdom:
- How could this knowledge be used to help the people we serve?
- How could this information add to the success of others?
- What parts of this information would help in areas where we are weakest?
- Is this the right time to use this information to produce change?
Let’s combine our knowledge with discernment and wisdom to create sustained change, and better lead those we serve.