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Wisdom and Learning from Important and Meaningful Life Experiences

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Abstract

According to the wisdom literature, learning from important and meaningful life experiences can foster wisdom. Leading others is one such experience. This paper explores empirically whether and how learning acquired from leadership experience can foster wisdom, which is defined as a real-life process encompassing three core components: cognitive integration, embodiment in actions, and positive effects for oneself and others. This paper consists of two studies. Study 1 investigated the learning acquired from leadership experience and its relationship with wisdom. Eight leaders in higher education in Taiwan participated in five interviews spanning 2 years which explored the lessons learned from their leadership experience. Analysis of the interviews found that leaders acquired rich and multidimensional learning from their leadership experience and that components of wisdom were involved in their learning and their application of the lessons learned. Study 2 examined whether the results of Study 1 could be generalized to a wider population of higher education leaders. An inventory of learning and wisdom compiled from Study 1 was administered to 94 Taiwanese higher education leaders twice within 8 months. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that leaders’ responses to items of both acquired learning and components of wisdom increased in 8 months and that these increases were strongly correlated. Results suggest that learning from important and meaningful life experiences can foster wisdom.

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Notes

  1. The Chinese term used for wisdom is Zhihui (智慧), and the term for leadership is Lingdao (領導). Although there may be cultural and linguistic nuances in these two terms that cannot be translated directly into English, both translations are consistent with the translations found in most English-Chinese and Chinese-English dictionaries (Liang et al. 1973, 2007), and with the definition of wisdom and leadership used in this paper.

  2. Based on the central limit theorem, a sample size greater than 30 is considered a large sample; its sampling distribution of the mean will approach a normal distribution (Howell 1997) and these data are assumed to have the characteristic structure or parameters of a normal distribution. However, if the sample size is smaller than 30, it is considered a small sample and the central limit theorem does not apply. In such cases, nonparametric statistics, which does not assume that the data or population have any characteristic structure or parameters, should be used.

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Acknowledgments

National Science Council funded this study under the grant numbered 99-2410-H-260-006-MY2 and NSC101-2410-H-260-031-SS3. The present study is part of a long-term project. The author would like to thank Dr. Yu-ping Hu and Dr. Sung-po Lin for their statistical advice. Many thanks to Chia-chen Liu, Pao-Ling Chung, Pei-chun Liao, Shih-hao Li, and Wan-ru Wang for their capable research assistance.

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  1. Department of Educational Policy and Administration, National Chi Nan University, 1 University Rd., Puli, Nantou, 54561, Taiwan

    Shih-ying Yang

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Correspondence to Shih-ying Yang.

Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 3.

Table 3 Questions used in the initial, regular, and final interviews
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Appendix 2

See Table 4.

Table 4 Main categories and items in Inventory of Leadership Learning and Components of Wisdom in Higher Education and results of confirmatory factor analysis for Time 1 and Time 2
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Yang, Sy. Wisdom and Learning from Important and Meaningful Life Experiences. J Adult Dev 21, 129–146 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-014-9186-x

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