Professional wisdom, the way people balance their own interests with those of their organization and the individuals they work with, has not often been investigated yet. We believe that organizational and situational constraints can limit individuals’ ability to act wisely. For a first test of this hypothesis, we investigated autobiographical memories of teachers and managers, two groups that are often viewed as in need of wisdom but differ markedly in control over their work, concerning professional situations in which they did and did not act wisely. A sample of 24 teachers and 15 high-ranking managers were interviewed about such situations, and responses were content-coded for wise and unwise behaviors and situational constraints. Results showed that unwise behaviors often involved ignoring divergent perspectives, overconfidence, and lack of empathy, and that situational factors predicting these differences including role pressures, limited time, and competition.
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