Six Questions to See if You are a Smart Leader

Leadership

Smart [leadership] is not about being intelligent, but rather about being wise in how to deal with people. ~Patrick Lencioni

smartIt’s not that difficult to find leaders who are intelligent, people who are content experts, who really know a topic in-depth. Leaders who are smart by Patrick Lencioni’s definition, who are wise in how to deal with people, aren’t quite so easy to come by.

I’m borrowing this idea from Patrick’s most recent book The Ideal Team Player. He identifies three virtues of the ideal team player, one of which is being smart and this is how he defines a smart team player. “They have common sense about people. Smart people tend to know what is happening in a group situation and how to deal with others in the most effective way. They have good judgment and intuition around the subtleties of group dynamics and the impact of their words and actions.”

I know that Patrick is talking about being a team player, but I would argue that the same definition of smart should apply to leadership. When I work with an organization, it’s rare that I find a leader who isn’t knowledgeable about the “content” of their organization or intellectually intelligent. I far more frequently come across leaders who lack the “smarts” that Patrick describes.

Smart leadership can be learned, but it takes a fair amount of practice, learning to become more mindful of your interactions. Here are six questions Patrick suggests you answer to determine how “smart” you are.

  1. I generally understand what others are feeling during meetings and conversations.
  2. I show empathy to others on the team.
  3. I demonstrate an interest in the lives of my teammates.
  4. I am an attentive listener.
  5. I am aware of how my words and actions impact others on the team.
  6. I adjust my behavior and style to fit the nature of a conversation or relationship.

The Review of Economics and Statistics recently published research findings indicating that your social skills may be just as important as your intelligence when it comes to achieving success.  Quoting Harvey Deutschendorf in Fast Company (6/16/14), “Over the last decade there has been a huge increase in evidence that emotional intelligence is an important factor in leadership.”

So, how can you become a smarter leader?