Letter from the Editor - In the Lead Magazine
Welcome to the twelfth edition of In the Lead.
What We Hire For, What We Fire For
We make decisions every day. Most seem mundane: what to wear, what to eat, which podcast
to listen to on our drive home. Others have longer time horizons: how much to save,
where to invest, which healthcare provider to trust.
Our decisions have consequences, and they show up in the form of outcomes. Over time, these outcomes become signals of our judgment. We must live with the fruits of our judgment, knowing we will make some good calls, and others not so good.
In business, we hire for evidence of past judgment. We promote good judgment. We fire for bad judgment. So how do we assess judgment? Is it the intent, the process or the outcome?
Further, as artificial intelligence continues to evolve, a catch-22 situation is emerging.
When artificial
intelligence can produce exceptional levels of analysis, human judgment becomes a
most valued skill.
And yet, good judgment is built the hard way, by doing the analysis ourselves, getting it wrong sometimes, and living with the costs. AI now does analysis for us, faster and more confidently than we ever could. Which means the process that builds judgment — the struggle, the failure, the course correction — is disappearing exactly at the time judgment becomes a most valued skill.
We are asking people to sharpen a skill while quietly removing its training ground.
So how do we build good judgment? For ourselves as leaders and educators? And nurture
it in the people we
lead and teach?
These are the thorny questions this issue of In the Lead explores. Our contributors include college and healthcare presidents, consultants, board advisors, professors, entrepreneurs, and a national soccer team captain.
What emerges is this: Good judgment is less a trait than a practice. It requires both head and heart, is built with others, is tested under pressure, and is judged by how you got to your end point, not just by where you landed.
Though the practice you build for enhancing judgment will be unique to you, you’ll find foundational building blocks for it in the pages that follow.
And because good judgment is a practice, put the lessons you learn in this issue to a litmus test. Apply them to three of the most consequential decisions you have made in the past, and see what — if anything — you would do differently.
- Ruchin Kansal, Editor
About the Editor
Ruchin Kansal, M.B.A. is a professor of practice at Seton Hall University and the founding editor of In the Lead. Prior, he led the Business Leadership Center at the Stillman School of Business, and held senior leadership roles at Capgemini, Deloitte, Boehringer Ingelheim & Siemens Healthineers with a distinguished record in strategy and innovation, digital health, strategic partnerships and business launches. He received his M.B.A. from NYU-Stern.