Module 4 The Virtuous Leader

In a presentation at the 38th Annual Critical Thinking Foundation International Conference, Robert Niewoehner described his preference for referring to the concept of intellectual virtues instead of intellectual traits (R. Niewoehner, personal communication, July 19, 2018). He reasoned that virtues are aspirational while we typically consider traits to be ingrained. Niewoehner's comments remind us whether we call them intellectual virtues or intellectual traits, they can be systematically cultivated in the pursuit of higher order critical thinking.

Prompt: The Virtuous Leader

In this blog, discuss the tensions between exercising critical thinking as a leader and developing intellectual virtues. In your blog, reflect on your experience as a leader and times when you felt constrained by your organization, your position, or other factors. Can a leader serve an organization faithfully and still develop the highest levels of intellectual virtues?

The Virtuous Leader

Discuss the tensions between exercising critical thinking as a leader and developing intellectual virtues. Can a leader serve an organization faithfully and still develop the highest levels of intellectual virtues?

Leaders come and go throughout our lives, whether effective or ineffective. Generally, it is pretty easy to identify the proficiency of a leader; for many, it's almost a gut feeling. Is this someone I trust? Would I follow them through thick and thin? According to Morgan (2020), "a leader is someone who does more than just lead people. They have to be driven by the right motivation and make a positive impact on the people around them.

Leadership requires someone who can rally individuals around a vision to achieve a common goal. Good leaders can usually unify and motivate people, but Morgan (2020) also argues that leaders need to be empathetic and connect with people to be successful. Not every person comes from the same background or possesses the same point of view. A good leader is able to make others feel valued by encouraging the perspectives of others. 

The problem is that sometimes a person can be a 'leader' in name or title, but not have devout and loyal followers due how they carry out the role. In many cases, subordinates actually despise their boss. In today's high-tempo world, end-results, the bottom line, are often considered more important than the journey to get there; the future is more important than the present. Are managers great if they achieve the end-state because they led a team to achieve a common goal? Or is it more complex than that? So what makes a great leader today?

Roselinde Torres (2014) speaks at a TED talk and opens by stating that when thinking of a leader, "many of us carry an image of an all-knowing superhero who stands, commands, and protects his/her followers." She claims, however, that this is an image from another time. She begins to highlight that there is something different that leaders today are doing that makes them thrive and grow contrary to what many leadership models teach. 

Torres (2014) continues by saying that, "chances are as a leader you are going to keep doing what's familiar and comfortable. But, great leaders dare to be different - they don't just talk about risk-taking, they actually do it." Moreover, they are able to withstand criticisms that their ideas are naïve, reckless, and stupid. Torres (2014) also argues that one's capacity to develop relationships with people who are very different from oneself, whether biological, physical, functional, cultural, political, or socioeconomic, is very important. It is that despite these differences, individuals are able to connect with the leader, they trust and cooperate with that person to achieve a shared goal. She further claims that having a more diverse network is a source of pattern identification at greater levels, and also of solutions...because people are thinking differently from how one single person, the leader, is.

What is interesting about Torres' talk is that without specifically mentioning the Paulian model of critical thinking, she actually highlights and describes traits, or virtues, that define great leaders. She brings up the importance of having intellectual courage, a willingness to stand up against the majority in spite of ridicule (Paul & Elder, 2020, p. 23). She also introduces the importance of intellectual humility, empathy, and fairmindedness in being able to be "aware of the limits of your knowledge" and the knowledge of your prejudices and ignorance. This is done hand-in-hand with reasoning "within viewpoints which you disagree. However, there is a bit more to this to add thanks to The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools.  Paul & Elder (2020) write that considering alternative viewpoints is not enough to take those points seriously; instead a critical thinker must be motivated by an intellectual sense of justice - "an intellectual responsibility to be fair to views you oppose" (p. 24).

So what exactly are intellectual virtues?

Well, intellectual standards apply to the quality of one's thought while intellectual traits, or virtues, apply to the quality of the thinker themselves (Paul, 2008). These traits consist of:

intellectual humility

intellectual courage

intellectual empathy

intellectual autonomy

intellectual integrity

intellectual perseverance

confidence in reason

fairmindedness

Nosich (2012) writes that these are parts of a person's character and difficult to acquire fully, however, everyone can improve and develop them over time (p. 175). While these intellectual virtues are geared toward critical thinkers, it is important to understand that every single leader should be a critical thinker and should, therefore, actively strive to further develop these. 

A good leader recognizes their own ignorance, prejudices, biases, and how fairminded they are - and they understand how these influence their thinking. A leader should encourage others to come to their own conclusions rather than forcing their own views on them, and they should also weigh the pros and cons of all significant relevant perspectives when reasoning through an issue (Paul & Elder, 2020, p. 25). 

There can certainly be some tension between exercising critical thinking as a leader and developing intellectual virtues. Some people may believe that a leader reliant on the aid and assistance from others is a sign of weakness...that in order to serve an organization faithfully they must set the example of perfection. I often consider that a lot of people might think this way - that a leader should be the best performer on a team. But, in reality, great leaders are often the people who actually cares about the group's well-being, direction, purpose, and its people.

A concept I often ponder on is that 'everyone is good at something, but no one is good at everything.' I believe this transcends into leadership because a leader should recognize and identify weaknesses in themselves and focus on highlighting and bringing out the strengths of themselves and others. A leader should not try to know everything, but rather, they should practice intellectual virtues and welcome the idea that 'there is strength in numbers.' A leader is nothing without followers, and if a leader can practice these intellectual virtues, then subordinates and team members can follow the example they set before them. In time, the leader will continue to develop toward the highest levels of intellectual virtues while serving an organization and become an even better leader with every passing day.

Discuss the tensions between exercising critical thinking as a leader and developing intellectual virtues. Can a leader serve an organization faithfully and still develop the highest levels of intellectual virtues?

Reflect on your experience as a leader and times when you felt constrained by your organization, your position, or other factors.

Throughout my career, I have noticed that I sometimes felt hand-cuffed and constrained due to a variety of factors. The biggest issues I encountered as a leader, and still do to this day, are when I do not agree with decisions and directives made by those above me in the chain of command. Most of the time, I would feel powerless if my opinions were not heard and just completely brushed aside. The best leaders I have worked for are those who encourage me to provide my perspective on a situation, even if ridiculous, and would value my input. These leaders made me feel 'safe.' 

One of the most notable practices I have seen is when a full-bird, O-6, colonel asked that in every meeting that a junior enlisted member sit at the head of the table with him. During these meetings, the colonel would ask for that member's input on the meeting at hand, and truly valued it. Another example is when a former supervisor, a captain, allowed me to brief my perspective to a colonel even though she knew I was incorrect in my thinking. Essentially, she allowed me to fail in order to let me learn from my mistakes, all while taking the hit and backing me up in front of the senior officer. 

I try to practice this with the members I lead - I do my best to give heavy thought and consideration to their perspectives, no matter how I feel about a situation. However, I have realized from taking this course that I could do a better job of setting aside my preconceptions, prejudices, and biases in order to be truly fairminded. I must practice intellectual humility and understand where I am ignorant, but seek to gain knowledge in spite of this. 

Ultimately, I am learning that it is okay to fail sometimes, it is okay to not know everything, but it is not okay to disregard the value each team member brings to the fight. As a leader, I must ask myself reflective questions on the intellectual virtues constantly and consistently because no one can ever finish developing. Every day we learn and grow. "Our failures aren’t completely characterized by bad answers to questions; typically our failures can be traced to questions we failed to even ask" (Niewoehner, 2008).

A virtuous leader under construction,

Chad

References:

Morgan, J. (2020). What is leadership, who is a leader? Chief Learning Officer. https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/01/06/what-is-leadership-and-who-is-a-leader/

Niewoehner, R. (2008). Critical thinking in the engineering enterprise. Leading Insight. https://www.criticalthinking.org/files/Niewoehner_2008.pdf

Nosich, G. (2012). Learning to think things through: A guide to critical thinking across the curriculum (4th ed.). Prentice Hall. 

Paul, R. (2008, April 15). Critical thinking and the intellectual traits [YouTube]. Critical Thinking Org. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnKExYSbECw&ab_channel=CriticalThinkingOrg

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2020). The miniature guide to critical thinking concepts and tools. Rowman & Littlefield.

Torres, R. (2014, February 19). What it takes to be a great leader | Roselinde Torres [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUYSDEYdmzw&ab_channel=TED