What types of intelligence help to be a good leader?

Leadership skills are highly valued skills in today's society.. In a world as competitive as ours, it is essential to be able to guide and motivate others towards the achievement of some determined objectives, make them see that the common objectives are compatible with their own and the need to subscribe and give them compliance.

In this aspect, a high level of intelligence it would seem to be of great use in playing the role of leader, since it is easy to assume that the more intelligent the person is, the more effectively he performs the role of leader. But is this really so?

Important intelligences in the leader

Logic and data obtained through various studies dictate that general intelligence (measured by IQ) is useful when establishing leadership, since a high level of intelligence allows a better situational analysis and consideration of alternatives.

However, this relationship between intelligence and efficient leadership has been found to have a small to moderate correlation. On the contrary, it is relatively frequent that those who are considered to be intellectual geniuses do not turn out to be good leaders. This is because having high intellectual abilities does not guarantee that in critical situations the ability to overcome and know how to lead the group is possessed.

In fact, sometimes higher brainpower can produce counterproductive results, producing ineffective leadership that ends up being ignored, in the case of situations in which the leader has much more capacity than the subordinates.

This is partly due to the emotional distance that the difference between capabilities creates as well as the fact that intelligence being a general construct that refers to a set of capabilities, it does not have to be similar to the set of skills necessary to lead. For example, having a high IQ does not imply the ability to motivate and know how to treat the people under your charge. What really implies greater effectiveness in leadership is the sense of competence and experience that the leader has.

Types of leadership

Studies carried out by various authors seem to demonstrate the existence of different types of leadership within the same group. Apart from these two typologies, depending on how power is exercised, different styles of exercising leadership (one of the most notable being the transformational one).

1. Task-focused leader

Leader focused on meeting targets and production. It is a type of leader who specializes in the task to be carried out, being an expert component in charge of mobilizing available resources. Although they raise productivity, the perception of workers towards it is usually negative.

This type of leader can have a very high academic and general intelligence, more often they have poor acceptance by subordinates, so that despite raising productivity in the long run can also increase productivity unrealized.

2. Socio-emotional leader

This type of leader tends to focus his performance on the employee, achieving the maintenance of a stable and functional work network, establishing collaboration strategies between employees and helping to reduce tensions. They minimize unrealized productivity and tend to have more appreciation and information than other types of leaders.

What makes leadership efficient?

Researcher Fred Fiedler developed what is known as the contingency model, according to which leader effectiveness is determined by leadership style and situational control. This last element depends on the structuring of the task, the power of the leader and his relationship with subordinates, the latter being the most relevant element when it comes to producing an effect on the effectiveness of leadership.

Task-focused leaders are helpful in situations where situational control is very low or very high, while in intermediate situations leaders seem to work better socio-emotional. This differentiation shows that there is no one leadership more efficient than another, but that the type of leadership most indicated will depend on the type of activities and the characteristics of the activity, company, objective, leader and staff.

Intelligence applied to effective leadership

As mentioned above, for leadership to be considered efficient, it is essential to take into account the type of relationship that is maintained with subordinates, since the leader-subordinate relationship is still a bond interpersonal.

In this sense, then, general intelligence is not as relevant as one of the various multiple intelligences, the emotional intelligence and the Interpersonal intelligence, which are much better predictors of efficient leadership than the measure of general intelligence.

A charismatic leader with a high level of emotional intelligence will show a remarkable ability to communicate positively affecting the emotionality of the worker. This ability allows you to collaborate with subordinates to help them make decisions, show performance of each one as necessary and contribute to make see the need to change attitudes and beliefs from the emotional regulation and empathy.

However, although this type of intelligence is essential for good leadership, the type of intelligence that best predicts the success of a leader is social intelligence. This type of intelligence refers to the ability to understand, participate and manage social situations, both formal and informal, as well as be able to visualize and delve into other people's perspectives. It also allows you to influence others.

Despite all the above, it must be taken into account that the level of intelligence, both social and emotional as the general, are an advantage in order to establish a clear, effective and efficient.

Conclution

In short, intelligence plays a relevant role in establishing and maintaining positive and functional leadership. Especially relevant in this regard are social or interpersonal intelligence and emotional.

However, the presence of high intellectual capacities does not imply better leadership per se, but the effectiveness of the leader will depend on many different factors, derived from both the leader and the staff, activity and situation, being in fact the best predictor of success the experience of the leader in managing the various situations.

Bibliographic references:

• Goleman, D. (2006). Social intelligence. The new science of human relationships. Editorial Kairos, Madrid.
• Riggio, R.E., Murphy, S.E., & Pirozzolo, F.J. (2002). Multiple intelligences and leadership. Erlbaum.
• Bass, Bernard M. (2008). The handbook of leadership (4th ed., With Ruth Bass). Free Press.
• Peiró, J.M. (1991). Organizational Psychology. Volumes 1 and 2. UNED, Madrid.
• Palací, F. (2004). Organizational Psychology. Ed. Pearson Prentice Hall. Madrid.