Why brilliant, data-rich leaders still make bad decisions

Let’s be honest: today’s leaders have never had more information at their fingertips. Dashboards glow with real-time data, consultants churn out PowerPoints by the dozen, and AI models promise to predict everything from customer churn to climate risk. Leaders are clever, connected, and analytically sharper than ever.

And yet, organisations continue to stumble. Brilliant, data-rich leaders make decisions that look perfect on paper but collapse in practice: launching products no one needs, adopting technologies without considering ethics, or chasing quarterly gains that undermine long-term survival.

Why does this happen? Because judgement is not the same as intelligence. Having more data does not automatically lead to better decisions. What is missing is wisdom: the reflective, ethically grounded capacity to pause, weigh perspectives, and harmonise immediate demands with long-term flourishing.

This is the provocation behind a recent white paper from the Centre for Wisdom in Leadership (CWIL) at SPJIMR: that wisdom, not just strategy or skill, is the missing ingredient in modern leadership.

Why established theories fall short

Consider the leadership models that dominate boardrooms and classrooms today.

Each of these theories offers valuable insights. Yet none alone provides the full toolkit for balancing the contradictions of our world: speed and reflection, profit and purpose, shareholder and society.

This is where wisdom enters.

So what is wisdom, anyway?

CWIL defines wise leadership as ‘a reflective, ethically grounded, and integrative process by which leaders intentionally combine rational analysis, intuitive insights, and moral discernment to effectively navigate complexity, empower diverse stakeholders, and achieve ethically sound outcomes, harmonising immediate demands with sustainable long-term flourishing for individuals, organisations, and society at large.’

In simpler terms, wisdom is not about knowing everything but about combining different ways of knowing. It means using data without being trapped by it, listening to intuition without drifting into guesswork, and grounding decisions in values that reach beyond personal or corporate gain. At its heart, wisdom helps leaders pause before rushing into action and ask: Am I pursuing the right outcome, and will it endure?

Wisdom is the GPS that says: yes, you can get there faster, but maybe don’t drive through the kindergarten.

The 8D framework: Leadership with a wider lens

The white paper lays out the 8 Dimensions of Wise Leadership (8D). They function like the spokes of a wheel, ensuring leadership moves steadily rather than veering off course:

Together, these dimensions sketch a picture of leadership that can withstand uncertainty without losing its moral compass.

From philosophy to practice

Of course, wisdom risks remaining abstract. How do you actually practise it on a Monday morning when your inbox is on fire?

This is where CWIL draws on the work of Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi. In their Harvard Business Review article ‘The Wise Leader’ (2011) and their book The Wise Company (Oxford University Press, 2019), they argue that wise leaders do not just think differently; they act differently.

They do six things especially well: judge goodness, grasp the essence, create ba (shared spaces for reflection and dialogue), communicate the essence through stories and metaphors, exercise political power to unite people, and foster wisdom in others.

In other words, they do not just juggle flaming torches; they teach others how not to get burnt.

A playbook for CEOs

Blending the 8D framework with Nonaka and Takeuchi’s practices, CWIL proposes a CEO playbook. It suggests six areas of focus: anchoring in purpose, practising ethical foresight, creating spaces for reflection, grasping complexity, balancing stakeholder perspectives, and mentoring others in wisdom.

The playbook also recommends phasing. Leaders should resist the temptation to implement everything at once, or they risk drowning in their own good intentions.

The pitfalls of wisdom

Every good idea comes with its pitfalls. Wisdom is no exception.

Quarterly earnings can crush long-term vision faster than you can say ‘analyst call’. Reflection rituals can become hollow if leaders do not embody them with authenticity. Middle managers may resist humility and dialogue, especially if they perceive them as slowing execution. And there is the temptation to let AI take over judgement: algorithms may calculate, but they do not care.

Wisdom requires courage, especially at the top.

What success looks like

So how do you know if wisdom is taking root?

Decisions begin to show longer foresight and fewer panicked reversals. Reflection becomes a habit in boardrooms, not just a retreat activity. Purpose shows up not in posters but in KPIs. Stakeholder trust deepens because communities see consistency. AI is used responsibly, as a partner rather than a substitute. And perhaps most importantly, future leaders are chosen not only for their quarterly results but also for the steadiness of their judgement.

So, are we ready for wise leadership?

At its heart, the CWIL white paper is a provocation. It challenges us to rethink what leadership is really about. If being effective means optimising the system, being wise means questioning whether the system itself is worth optimising.

Perhaps the time has come to stop asking only, ‘Who is the most innovative?’ Who is the fastest? And also to ask: Who is the most balanced in judgement?

Because in a world where disruption is the only constant, wisdom may be the most underrated and the most urgently needed leadership capacity of all.

Learn more in the full white paper