JMGT_V1_N2_A4 Thomas Mengel Journal on Management 2230 – 715X 1 2 35 41 leadership development, three-dimensional model, human intelligence, knowledge, three-dimensional approach “Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life.” (Sandra Carey) In spite of our increasing knowledge and the effort we put into leadership development, we seem to fail at an astonishing rate. We appear to make a living by continuously creating new problems when solving others. Complexity of life and uncertainty of our future call for making a life by wisely accepting our ignorance without loosing confidence in what we do know. This article suggests a new approach to leadership development based on a three-dimensional model of knowledge and human intelligence. We perceive ourselves to live in a knowledge society which requires us to acquire knowledge in order to be able to solve the problems ahead of us and in order to make a living. We learn how and when to use which tools and how to apply them to given problems. However, we still seem to fail at an astonishing rate, given the increasing amount of knowledge that has been collected. We seem to make a living by continuously creating new problems while solving others. Complexity of life appears to go beyond the problem-solving knowledge we tend to apply. Uncertainty of our future calls for making a life by wisely accepting our ignorance without loosing confidence in what we do know and to act accordingly. This article suggests a change of approach to leadership development away from the focus on more expertise and management knowledge to the ability to discover meaning in what we do and to jointly create a meaningful future. This will be based on a three-dimensional approach to knowledge and human intelligence. September - November 2006 Copyright © 2006 i-manager publications. All rights reserved. i-manager Publications http://www.imanagerpublications.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=395