Intelligently Stupid.

German – American poet and novelist, Charles Bukowski said that “the problem with the world is that intelligent people are full of doubts while the stupid ones are full of confidence”. I shared that quote with a few people curious to hear their thoughts. Most agreed with Bukowski’s line but were shy to admit it strongly because they probably knew people they could list especially in the stupid category.

But then would some of us be hesitant to agree with that statement because we are full of (misplaced) confidence? Time to check ourselves, folks. This reminded me of a book I read in 2018 – Leading with a Limp. There is truly a lot of wisdom to mine from books. It shaped my tenure as chairman of Kenya Golf Union. It was the highest office I had occupied so far and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. Maybe it’s because I hadn’t applied for the job in the first place. It kind of came to me.

Maybe I shouldn’t judge our politicians harshly when they tell us that they didn’t want to lead but were pushed by their people. It comes out with a ka fake humility when they say it though. With my little experience so far in public service, I have observed that I got the positions I never felt strongly about and missed the ones that I really wanted. I wonder why.

The book, Leading with a Limp says that the best leaders are the ones who do not want leadership. That was reassuring because it validated the position I found myself in 5 years ago. I was full of doubts and my greatest fear was messing up and being judged as a weak leader who didn’t achieve much during his tenure. Battling doubt, we could conclude that I was (and hopefully still am) intelligent, going by Bukowski’s statement hehe. I had a good run if I may say so myself.

Last week I was asked to lead the elections process for my local coaching chapter. The current board leaves next month and we need a new one. Voluntary jobs are hard because there is no pay and the work is a lot. If you’re lucky then some are paid with mandazi and parking as was my case running golf in the country five years ago. Having served in my local coaching chapter for a few years now, I know great minds who can unleash the potential and power of coaching in Kenya and beyond. But most often decline to take up the role. The ones who do work hard and receive little appreciation along the way.

It will be sad to see some board members leave because they have added value this year and grown the chapter even with little or no appreciation. This is a special breed of folks. Those whose ultimate goal is to serve and leave the world a better place than they found it. Their work speaks for itself and that could be how their intelligence shows. They are generally poor in the politics of their jobs and organizations and many eventually become victims of those politics. They often appear foolish to the politicians because they are not driven by self-gain but by a bigger goal of lifting those around them.

A rising tide lifts all boats. If that’s the case then why are we blind to the reality that the only way to lift ourselves is through lifting another?  Is it possible for intelligent folks (like us here hehe) to replace their doubt with the confidence often seen with stupid people? Could it be what the Good Book refers to when it tells us to be as shrewd as a serpent but innocent as a dove?

Are you on the intelligent people list? And do you know someone on the stupid people list? I’m sure we all know several. How can we bridge the gap and have more confidently intelligent people? Maybe instead of backbiting those we view as not intelligent (I’m avoiding using the word stupid, sounds too strong), we could coach them to tap into their intelligence. And in return, they could help us grow in our confidence and doubt ourselves less.

We all have a role to play in this movie we call life and we need to play it well if our lives will be a blockbuster. May we seek what that role is and play it well using the abilities and talents we have. In addition, we could look out for those who need our help in carrying out their mission. With that human collabo perhaps the world’s problems that Bukowski is referring to will reduce. And that’s because the ones with too much confidence shared it with the doubting ones and the tide rose for all of us.

Folks, how will you make the tide rise for another? It might be a good end-of-year resolution.