“In everything consider the consequences.”
- La Fontaine

A few articles ago I proposed the idea that successful leaders, in addition to being humble, should also practice the 4 Cardinal virtues.

I also committed to expand on this idea with more thoughts on each virtue.

As such, tonight we begin this journey with a discussion of the Cardinal virtue of prudence.

Prudence Defined

There are many definitions of prudence available such as the exercise of sound judgment in practical affairs.

But what does this really mean? More specifically, how does a leader of people practice this important virtue?

Prudence is Not Analysis Paralysis

First, I’d like to propose what prudence is not. Specifically, the prudent leader does not fall into what is often referred to as analysis paralysis.

In other words, while they do take the time to study the facts of the situation they are able, and more importantly, willing to make the tough call once they are confident in the way forward.

In fact, this aligns perfectly with what Jim Collins wrote about in his book Good to Great, as so called Level 5 Leaders almost always exhibit the will and courage to make the tough call after studying the facts.

Think Before You Leap

Now, to be clear, the prudent leader definitely thinks before he or she leaps.

In other words, to be prudent means to make sound decisions after weighing all of the options.

Some say that prudence is nothing more than the avoidance of reckless behavior.  Of course this may be oversimplifying things a bit but recklessness is most definitely an imprudent attribute so perhaps it’s the perfect description after all!

Long Term Perspective

Next, it’s my belief that the prudent leader always maintains a long term perspective when making decisions.

In other words, these leaders make decisions based on how to win the war rather than an individual battle.

As the co-owner of a business I can honestly tell you this is easier said (and written) than done. But, then again, no one said being a leader is easy.

Father of all Virtues

Lastly, St. Thomas Aquinas considered prudence to be the cause, measure and form of all virtues. This is to say without prudence a leader cannot possibly practice any of the other virtues.

For example, without prudence a leader cannot practice the virtue of temperance as it would be impossible to determine if they were being driven by a craving/desire or legitimate need.

What Does Prudence Mean to You?

This is what prudence means to me… but, as always, I am more interested in what you think.

Do you agree with my assessment of what prudence is? Additionally, in your opinion, how does a leader practice this important virtue?

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Our most recent article, Level 5 Leadership, created quite the discussion in the comments section (18 comments as I write this).

As is normally the case, I learned a lot from all the comments. I agreed with some of them and disagreed with others… but one question that seemed to rise to the top was whether humility is something that can be developed?

My initial, knee jerk reaction, was of course it can be developed and I set off to write how this is the case.

Reflection

Then I decided to take a step back and really ponder the question. And during this reflection I was reminded of the central part of my life – my faith.

Specifically, when thinking about humility my thoughts immediately went to the virtue of temperance. Then I was reminded of the other 3 cardinal virtues – prudence, justice, and courage.

The Light Goes Off

And then it hit me. While humility is of course an important characteristic of a leader… it, in isolation, doesn’t come close to equaling the power of the 4 cardinal virtues.

With this said, I’ve decided to dive into each of the 4 cardinal virtues over the next few articles discussing how each of them plays a role in the life of an excellent leader no matter if they are a person or faith or not.

But before we jump into each virtue I’d like to offer a few words regarding the origins of these virtues.

Cardinal Virtues Background

As it turns out, Plato is credited with initially deriving these virtues while theologians like St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine of Hippo went on to expand and adapt them to the ways of faith.

Finally, in case you wondered, the word cardinal is derived from the Latin word cardo, which means hinge.

As such, the cardinal virtues are often referred to as the hinges to which the doors of morality, faith, and I personally believe leadership swing.

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In his classic business book Good to Great Jim Collins introduces what he refers to as Level 5 Leaders, our topic in this article.

Humility

To start with, Level 5 Leaders are humble.

In other words, those that Collins and his team of researcher’s labeled Level 5 Leaders rarely, if ever, took credit for their company’s outstanding performance.

Many of them would, in fact, pass their company’s success off as luck or being in the right place at the right time.

The analogy of a window and mirror was also used to describe Level 5 Leaders. Specifically, these leaders tend to always look out their window at their associates when explaining their company’s success while always looking in the mirror when dealing with or explaining how problems arose.

Collins contrasts this with companies that were not being lead by Level 5 Leaders. These companies are often lead by tyrants who tend to blame others (look out window) for their failures while always being the first to accept credit (look in mirror) for any success.

And the blame these tyrants pass off knows no boundaries… employees get blamed, the economy gets blamed, low cost competition gets blamed, etc. Just about everyone and everything gets blame with one exception – the way they personally lead the organization.

The Will to Succeed

The next characteristic Level 5 Leaders display is an unquenchable will to succeed.

These leaders will do just about anything needed to move their company forward… including, for example, the firing of family members and anyone else they feel is not capable of this level of leadership.

I couldn’t help myself from struggling a bit throughout this section since, it seems, there is a very fine line between what Collins is talking about while still maintaining a focus of respect for people.

Of course, while many people speak about how companies like Toyota practice respect for people… what they often leave out is that Toyota leaders can be ruthless as they shun and ignore underperforming associates… which often leads to the underperformer resigning in shame.

Of course, with this said, sometimes people are not in the right jobs and a change is needed for the good of the company and the associate. The key, it seems, is how these difficult decisions are handled.

Additionally, Level 5 Leaders also hold firm to difficult business decisions and are not swayed when others begin to panic and/or attempt to continue status quo.

For example, Walgreen’s former CEO made the decision to move out of the restaurant business while continuing to develop what he felt was their true core competency – their drug stores.

This was an extremely hard decision – and one he faced a lot of opposition to – yet he never wavered. And as a result of this move, coupled with other sound decisions, Walgreens went on to enjoy phenomenal success which they continue to enjoy today.

What do you think?

So, it seems the two primary characteristics of the Level 5 Leader are straight forward – be humble while holding fast to the path you feel is best for the organization no matter how difficult it may be.

I’d like to turn it over to you, are in 100% agreement with this leadership style? Do you think Level 5 Leadership is essential for a company to succeed?