Intelligence makes for better leaders. It certainly makes sense that handling a market shift or anything like that requires intelligence. But new research on leadership suggests that, at a certain point, having a higher IQ stops helping and starts hurting.
Decades ago, Dean Simonton, a psychologist from the University of California, Davis, came up with that brilliant leaders’ words may simply go over people’s heads, that their solutions could be more complicated to carry out and that followers might find it harder to relate to them. Now Simonton and two colleagues have finally tested that idea, publishing their results in Journal of Applied Psychology.
The researchers looked at 379 male and female business leaders in 30 countries across fields including banking, retail and technology. The managers took IQ tests and each was rated (划分等级) on the leadership style and effectiveness by an average of eight co-workers. The IQ positively correlated (相互关联) with ratings of leader effectiveness, strategy formation, vision and several other characteristics — up to a point. The ratings peaked at an IQ of around 120, which is higher than roughly 80 percent of office workers. Beyond that, the ratings decreased. The researchers suggest the “ideal” IQ could be higher to 140 or lower to 100 in various fields, depending on whether technical or social skills are more valued in a given work culture.
“It’s an interesting and thoughtful paper,” says Paul Sackett, a management professor at University of Minnesota, who was not involved in the research. “To me, the right interpretation (理解) of the work would be that it highlights a need to understand it is what high-IQ leaders do that leads to lower understanding by followers,” he says. “The wrong interpretation would be ‘Don’t hire high-IQ leaders’.”
The study’s lead author, John Antonakis, a psychologist at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, suggests leaders should use their intelligence to use creative language that will persuade and inspire others — the way former U. S. President Barack Obama did. “I think the only way a smart person can signal their intelligence properly and still connect with people, ” Antonakis says, “is to speak in charming ways.”
12. According to the first paragraph, we know that __________.
A.well-known leaders show the highest IQ |
B.effective business depends on the intelligence of leaders |
C.leaders with a higher IQ may do harm to teams |
D.the higher IQ leaders have, the stronger leadership they have |
13. According to Simonton, managers with an IQ of about are probably the most efficient.
14. What is Paul Sackett’s attitude towards hiring high-IQ leaders?
A.Unconcerned. | B.Positive. |
C.Doubtful. | D.Unclear. |
15. Why did Antonakis mention Barack Obama in the last paragraph?
A.To encourage us to learn more about leadership. |
B.To explain how intelligent people achieve success. |
C.To show creativity is more important than intelligence. |
D.To emphasize the importance of using intelligence properly. |