Do you have a Leaders IQ

When I talk about a leader’s IQ I am not talking about the above average intelligence of the honor student. It is one thing to be an honor student but quite another to be an intelligent leader. Leadership sense is a combination of common sense, knowledge, and wisdom.

Common sense is the thing that gets the leader through the day to day touchy situations which are imposed by the job. Common sense is the ability to think and solve problems. The person with common sense also has the sense to think outside of the box whenever necessary. Sometimes you have to go into gray areas when it comes to rules and regulations. The person with common sense knows how to flex and bend with the situation. He or she may bend but they know how to not be broken by the situations and circumstances which life will throw at them. A common sense leader always seems to have common sense followers. They learn the traits and habits of their leader from observing his daily interactions. Since any job is no more than a series of daily problem solving situations they will begin to apply the characteristics of their leader to the problems presented each day in the workplace.

Knowledge is power. This is true in the sense that followers who don’t have knowledge will have to go to their leader to learn from him. There is no substitute for experience which is why businesses always seek out experienced workers. Experience will always be a plus in a problem solving environment such as the workplace. The experienced worker or leader seldom encounters a problem which he has not seen. He doesn’t have to figure out an answer because he will just apply past procedures. Subordinates will respect this experience when they witness it. The experienced leader knows how to use his or her experience to their advantage.

Wisdom is the application of knowledge. I look at the wise person much the same way that I look at the chess player. In order to be successful the chess player must have an intimate knowledge of the capabilities of each one of his chess pieces. He must know the best ways t use each piece and the best situations to use them. He must know the chess board and the areas of the board which he needs to control. In addition, he must know the mind of his opponent. If he has never faced a particular opponent he has to know the gambits which he will be more likely to respond to. He will have to use his pieces to make a quick evaluation of his opponent’s tendencies and abilities but he has to be wise enough not to sacrifice many pieces in order to do so. He has to know when to sacrifice his pieces and the pieces which he can actually afford to lose. He has to make constant quality decisions during the course of the game. Each decision has to give him some type of advantage. Maybe in position, or power but each decision must be carefully timed and calculated.

The good leader must also have the wisdom to apply knowledge to circumstances as they are happening. He or she must know when to use people in different situations. I liken this ability to the football coach who has to use certain personnel in certain circumstances. If the coach does not utilize the right people at the right time he will not be successful.

Remember the strategy which our military used during Operation Desert Storm. This strategy was a prime example of a combination of all of these leadership characteristics. Every leader posses these qualities although each leader posses them in different degrees.

On top of all of these things the good leader needs to have good social skills. He or she must be able to get people to willingly perform. It is possible to be a coercive leader and effective at the same time but this type of leadership is costly in the terms of sacrificed lives. It has no regard for the human aspect of leadership. Riceland Enterprises