Intellectual Perseverance
On the website for the Foundation for Critical Thinking, The Critical Thinking Community, there is an article on Valuable Intellectual Traits (2014). In this article, they discuss the characteristics of a person's thought processes that add value to their professed knowledge or beliefs. One trait in particular, intellection perseverance, is defined as "having a consciousness of the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations; firm adherence to rational principles despite the irrational opposition of others; a sense of the need to struggle with confusion and unsettled questions over an extended period of time to achieve deeper understanding or insight." To me, this means: maintaining a rational thought process, even when circumstances are difficult or lead you to an instinctively emotional response.
So, what does intellectual perseverance have to do with leadership? In my experience, which is primarily in a military environment, it means being able to make rational decisions despite the emotions involved. If a decision leads to the death of one or two people, but saves the lives of hundreds or thousands, then it is a decision made with intellectual perseverance. Our humanity leads us towards an internal conflict. One where we must keep everyone alive. Situations, especially in combat, are not usually that cut and dry. It takes intellectual perseverance to maintain a rational response under those circumstances. A less drastic, but still very serious situation, would be the floundering of a company's fiscal position. An organization's leader may feel obligated to make a decision in the interest of every employee keeping their job. This could have dire consequences for everyone in the company if it fails. If intellectual perseverance is maintained, they may find that eliminating a few excess positions will secure the company's fiscal position for the many.
After the initial reading of the definition and interpreting it into my own, I sought to match it to another example. Being a bit of a movie buff, I tend to lean towards movie references. Leonard Nimoy's character, Spock from Star Trek, was the first thing to pop into my head. I wasn't sure the example completely fit, though. I returned back to the article and read some of the other traits, and re-read the definition of intellectual perseverance. Spock uses logic and reasoning for every decision and whenever he is asked for his input. Even when it requires him to sacrifice his own life to save others, it is the only logical thing to do. If self-sacrifice isn't a difficulty or obstacle, then I don't know what is. So, I will stick with my example. If you have trouble understanding intellectual perseverance, just think of Spock. If you don't have that frame of reference, jump on Netflix and watch some of the original Star Trek movies. You're really missing out on some iconic cinema.
Reference
Foundation for Critical Thinking (2014). Valuable Intellectual Traits. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/valuable-intellectual-traits/528
