Being smarter is usually associated with success – intelligence has been found to have a positive relationship with leadership effectiveness - however this research shows the relationship flattens and even reverses at a certain level (IQ around 120).
This research supports what we are already applying– ability only tells us one part of the story and it is often not necessary to use overly high cut off scores. The use of personality assessments and interpretation of what this means for leadership styles, helps us make better informed recommendations for leadership effectiveness.
Antonakis, J., House, R. J., & Simonton, D. K. (2017). Can super smart leaders suffer from too much of a good thing? The curvilinear effect of intelligence on perceived leadership behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(7), 1003-1021.
Highly intelligent people tend to make good progress in the workplace and are seen as fit for leadership roles: overall, smarter is usually associated with success. But if you examine the situation more closely, as does new research in the Journal of Applied Psychology, you find evidence that too much intelligence can harm leadership effectiveness. Too clever for your own good? Let’s look at the research.
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