Leaders Need to Harness Aristotle’s 3 Types of Knowledge

 

One of the critical leadership skill that one needs to develop is the ability to figure out what kind of thinking is required t address a challenge. If this is not done right, then there will be a wasted effort of fruitlessly analysing data when what is required is a value-based judgement call. Again on some issues, you may trust your instincts when a careful analysis of data would give us the right way.

These types of judgement errors are common, as different types of knowledge. Aristotle outlined three realms of knowledge required to solve problems

• Teche craft knowledge, learning to use the tools and methods to create something.
• Episteme scientific knowledge. uncovering laws of nature and other fundamental facts.
• Phronesis ethical judgement. perspective and wisdom required to take decisions when conflicting values are at work. The answer may not be absolute, multiple actions are possible.

One of the reasons that this was elucidated was the fact that they require different approaches. People tend to use the style that has served them the best in the past, irrespective of whether it is appropriate or not. 

As a chief executive of a company, one faces multiple problems regularly in all three knowledge areas. There will be tools related problems as one adopts effective methods in operations. There will be knowledge-related problems like optimisation. Any problem classified as strategic falls in perspective or judgement problems with multiple options where one needs to take a judgemental call. 

The leader must make sure to assemble the right talent to solve them by gathering the right talent and people to find the solution. This means that the leader must have some familiarity with all types of thinking to recognise which is the best fit and who are the best to solve it.

In today's complex world, the problems are scoped so broadly that all these types of thinking are required for one problem.

During the current pandemic, huge challenges have been presented to leaders at all level. many have been overcome by the scale of the challenges and some missteps were unavoidable. It is now clear that many leaders erred in determining the challenge they faced.

Initially, this was treated as an epistemic problem, requiring a scientific solution. Hence the focus was on the type, origin, characteristics of the epidemic. While these were necessary, it was one of the requirements as the epidemic gradually escalated to a social crisis. Quickly tough decisions had to be taken in term of alternatives, tradeoffs, consider various perspectives. It now became clear that this was not purely an epistemic problem.

The right approach would have been to consider the possibility of multiple dimensions and assembled resources to analyse the problem from all perspectives to ensure that the scope was larger than its focus. The right approach would have been to treat this as a much broader issue encompassing all dimensions that would require a holistic and value balanced decisions.

Part o the job of a leader is to frame the problem you want people to solve. This starts with understanding the nature of the problem and communicating in the way it should be addressed. The ability to size up the problem and the knowledge it requires is a skill that can be acquired by deliberate practice but the first step is to acknowledge that different kind of knowledge that exists and recognise what is required to solve the problem at hand. 

In future leaders would be judged on the way they identify the magnitude of the problem and apply the skill set required to find a solution.

Leaders Need to Harness Aristotle’s 3 Types of Knowledge

by Roger L. Martin, Richard Straub and Julia Kirby

HBR 2020/10