OK, it is the middle of November and as the college football season moves towards the playoffs it gets more interesting, so I couldn’t resist the playful title. But there is a real point to this article. It is that leadership is more dependent upon character than it is on cognitive ability (what we know as IQ).

In an article that I wrote recently on the relationship between IQ and leadership, I made the case that intelligence was helpful to being a good leader but was not the most critical factor. Our IQ enables us to see opportunities for growth and to take the steps to develop our leadership, but leadership is built first on a foundation of character and emotional intelligence. Our IQ enables us to use our character and EQ for the greatest effect. But when someone has a strong IQ without the base of character and EQ, that strong IQ can be a detriment to building the types of relationships in which we are able to effectively influence those around us. We are no doubt all familiar with highly intelligent people who can be obnoxious because they are weak in certain character traits and cannot relate to people effectively, therefore rather than building relationship they instead intimidate or disdain those who they do not regard as equals.

In a recent article in HBR by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic scientific evidence is provided to corroborate this view. The article states that people who have the character traits of being “more adjusted, sociable, ambitious, and curious are much more likely to become leaders. (53% of the variability in leadership emergence is explained by these personality factors.)” Of course, “higher levels of cognitive ability (IQ) also increase an individual’s likelihood to emerge as a leader, though by less than 5%.” The article goes on to describe how positive character traits and strong emotional intelligence enable a leader to be more effective. Much of this HBR article is based on a meta-analysis of correlations between personality or character traits and leadership.

There are those who would argue that an intelligent person can fake it. But people look for authenticity and transparency in leaders before they are willing to trust. And people must first trust before they are ready to accept the influence of a leader.

What is your experience regarding the relative importance of character versus leadership?