Wisdom is a defining attribute of the successful leader. While many gifted philosophers and leaders—Confucius, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Cicero, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Descartes—have explored the virtue of wisdom in leadership, in its current form, the study of wisdom has been aided by advances in the psychological sciences and management theory. In Executive Wisdom: Coaching and the Emergence of Virtuous Leaders, renowned executive consultant Richard R. Kilburg introduces the concept of Executive Wisdom and explores how consultants and coaches can help leaders become wiser in the conduct of their offices, and how these same concepts can be applied to senior leadership teams.

What is executive wisdom, and how can it be developed through coaching? Executive wisdom emerges from a complex matrix of factors that affect an individual leader's thoughts, behavior, and emotions, including his or her organization, biopsychosocial systems, behavioral interfaces, internalized human wisdom system, external and internal challenges, and environment. It develops through the discernment, decision making, and executive action that leaders take in their daily lives. Synthesizing a rich array of concepts and processes, such as wisdom mapping, Kilburg deepens the reader's understanding of leadership performance and explains the causes and consequences of executive failure.

This book uniquely integrates a large body of historical, philosophical, psychological, and business models and methods as they relate to executive coaching and leadership development, for individuals, dyads, teams, and executive groups. Some of the key elements that make the book successful are carefully constructed case examples and methodological suggestions for improving an individual executive's capacity, plus literature summaries, point-by-point presentations, narrative case analyses, and activities that will appeal to different learning styles and needs for leaders and their coaches.