Don’t make the people around you stupid, just because you are
Damien talked about “When low IQ manages high IQ” the other day and I have this urge of writing something similar.
The standard of IQ does not denote the status or ‘luck’ of a person in our society. That’s why there are times when someone who is luckier but has lower IQ, is the person who leads and manages the people with higher IQ aka the smarter individuals. This is fine since not everyone is smart and not every smart guy is a good leader/manager. Different people, different skill and different level of IQ. The thing which this not-so-smart leader needs to do is to let these smart people to work efficiently.
Problem occurs when this hero of ours tries to act smart and becomes zero. He is unwilling to admit that he is not as smart as the people under him. He is unwilling to listen to opinions/suggestions of others, even though they are a lot better than his own opinions/suggestions. He just does not want to admit the fact. What he does then is to delegate and instruct the smart people to carry out his stupid ideas. In the end, he fails to utilize the talents available to him and indirectly lowers all his smart subordinates down to his own level – and bringing down the business in the process.
Is it worth it? Of course not! Why does he want to risk his own job or his business, in order to feed his ego? Why can’t he just admit that the people under him are smarter than him? Why can’t he just let them do what they are best at or even consider some of the suggestions/opinions?
Hmm, maybe he doesn’t realize the reality? After all, he’s not that smart.
What people need to do is to appreciate and respect other people’s talents and intelligence. There will surely be someone who is smarter than you in this world, and most often than not, this someone might be working for you. Your job then, is not to let this “smartness” goes to waste… Learn to utilize it. The last thing you want to do is to make the smart people stupid….and eventually irrelevant in your team.
Don’t waste the talents that are available to you, just because you do not have any of those talents. Swallow your pride. Do it now, or you might regret in the future.
You’re right, the boss need not be the most intelligent person of the lot but he does need to understand how to get the most out of his people. I’ve always believed high IQ workforce + high EQ boss = best results.
Its just like coaching. The coach is never the best player on the field but what he does need is to understand people and know how to to rally the team.
Many high-tech local firms I spoke to have heard of IQ and EQ. They just don’t believe in it.
@ Damien
That’s why they don’t want to believe your EQ and IQ thing.
Maybe they don’t want to admit they’re low on IQ.
I believe the boss should have high EQ. High IQ does not mean high EQ.
Anyway, not so easy to lead intelligent folks. You’ve got to keep them motivated. That’s why I believe in finding the key motivation and strength of individuals as a means to communicate and motivate the member to the best of their potential.
Angie Tans last blog post..Talking Wood
@ Angie
There’s a saying which says good people don’t need others to motivate them. Hahaha. I wonder how true is that?