Intellect…an Asset or Liability?
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
My question is this: Is your intellect an asset or liability? All one has to do is watch a very bright person defend their position to understand what I’m driving at with today’s post. Observing intelligent people lecture, spin, posture, position, cajole, argue, rationalize, or justify their beliefs in order to “get the win” is often times entertaining, but it can also be exceedingly frustrating. I’ve come across more than a few self-proclaimed “intelligent” people who believe that their intellectual acuity is far superior to the discernment ability of their peers and co-workers. Not only are these intellectual giants wrong, but sadly, by the time they awaken to a state of reality it is already too late. In today’s post I’ll share the keys to leveraging your intellectual assets as opposed to having your intelligence serve as a barrier to your success…
While leadership intelligence doesn’t have to be an oxymoron, it certainly can be. When a person begins to believe their own smoke, they have placed themselves on a very slippery slope. I am a big believer that there is truth in the statement that “a person can be too smart for their own good.” How many times have you witnessed a very bright person fail to solve a problem that a younger, less experienced, and perhaps even a less intelligent person solved with seemingly little effort? While raw intelligence is a valuable commodity, in-and-of-itself, and to the exclusion of other traits and characteristics, the sole reliance on IQ can be a barrier to professional growth and maturity.
Is your intellect standing in the way of your success? Are you so enamored with how smart you are that you can’t get anything done? Consider this…Is it more important to be right, or to achieve the right outcome? I tend to respect those who can lead others to the proper outcome as opposed to those who excoriate others just to prove they’re right. If your certitude overshadows your wisdom, you may want to dial it back a notch…
By nature of what I do for a living I tend to work with very bright people. It has been my observation that hyper-intelligent people can tend to think themselves into trouble and out of opportunities with great ease…Whenever I find myself discussing issues of intellect, ego, leadership etc., I’m always reminded of the cartoon which reads: “Rule number one: the boss is always right. Rule number two: When in doubt refer to rule number one.” If you find yourself rationalizing or justifying positions based solely upon intellectual reasoning without regard to practical realities, timing, or other contextual considerations, you may be too smart for your own good. Just as a lack of belief in gravity won’t prevent you from tripping, simply believing a particular opinion or theory to be fact doesn’t mean your right.
Often times the problem with intelligent people lies simply in the fact that they have come to enjoy being right. Bright people can quickly find themselves in the position of confusing ego with intellect, and can sometimes defend ideas to the death rather than admit they’re wrong. Winning an argument isn’t particularly difficult, but it may come at a very expensive price. This confusion of ego and intellect often stems from bright people successfully arguing wrong positions over time such that they’ve built their persona around being right, and will therefore defend their perfect record of invented righteousness to the death. Smart people often fall into the trap of preferring to be right even if it’s based in delusion.
So how do you know when you’ve crossed over to the dark-side and can’t tell the difference between fact and fiction? The following items will help you discern whether or not you are using your intellect properly or whether you’ve just simply bought-off on your own propaganda…
1. Consistent Conflict: Do you find yourself in a perpetual state of debate? Do you find yourself thinking “why am I the only one that gets it?” Is it more important for you to be right than to arrive at the correct resolution to an issue, problem or opportunity? Are you known as a bitter, pessimistic or negative person? If any of these issues describe situations that hit too close to home then you may want to take a step back and do some self-evaluation.
2. Exclusivity vs. Inclusivity: Do you use your intelligence to intimidate and stifle others or to encourage, inspire and motivate others? Do you wonder why you can’t seem to retain tier one talent or why you lose key clients? If your brilliance is polarizing as opposed to serving as a magnet which attracts, then how smart are you really?
3. True Success: If an independent third party came into your business and interviewed your peers and subordinates alike, what would that feedback look like? Do others see you as successful, or are you merely a legend in your own mind? What I think of myself is not nearly as important as what my family, friends, clients, and co-workers think of me. If those you surround yourself with don’t hold you in high regard, then you have no reason to.
The bottom line is this…the gift of intellect is an asset to be thankful for, and put to good and productive use. It is not an excuse to be lazy, arrogant, mean-spirited or delusional. Don’t let your intellect stand in your way, but rather use it as an asset to develop those around you to their full potential thereby increasing your chances for long-term success.
Is your experience similar to, or different than what I’ve shared above? Please share you insights in the comments section below.
[...] stuck at my present level for so long. While reading one of Mike Myatt’s articles called Is Your Intellect an Asset or a Liability, I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks and said, “My God! He’s talking to me”. [...]
Good post, Mike
You comments reminded me of a quote by Samuel Goldwin… "Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day"
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Intellect can be a gift or a 'crutch' depending on how it is used ~ deployed in the service of others or used as a smoke screen in an 'attempt' to hide insecurity. Irrespective the approach 'Intention' breeds 'Transparency'.
Have a great day!
M
Mike,
I have really enjoyed your posts for some time but I must say this has got to be one of the best. The exercise and display of intellect in order to be seen as or acknowledged as 'right' is, in my opinion, the difference between 'think they are' and 'real' leaders. Real leaders may have varied personalities but when all is said and done they recognize that the greatest rewards are gained not from the insights talents and accomplishments that come out of them but what they bring out of others. Thanks again for a great post. Dan
Hi Mark – Love this: "Intention breeds Transparency" – so true. Dan (@LeadershipFreak) actually inspired this post with something I read of his the other day: "Weak leaders win arguments, strong leaders leverage conflict." Thanks for stopping by Mark.
Mike: Yes! Yes, you can be too smart for your own good. You can base your entire world perception around being the smartest guy in the room and devise "clever" strategies and implementations and in the process, alienate your people, your customers and everyone around you. ____On a less polarized scale, you can simply be someone who synthesizes input faster than your peers and move to next steps before the others have arrived at your (or any) conclusion. This group dynamic disconnect not only bogs down the machine, but creates over time a split that takes work to overcome. It may not be done in a mean-spirited way, but when one person "is always running off down the field" when everyone else is still figuring out the play, it doesn't help. ____A good point made here. "Stay low on the ladder of inference."
Hi Dan:
Thanks for the kind words. Even the best leaders if they're honest will admit that they've fallen prey to wanting to win for the wrong reasons at some point. The difference with the great leaders is that this tendency is the exception and not the rule. You nailed this by saying: "…they recognize that the greatest rewards are gained not from the insights talents and accomplishments that come out of them but what they bring out of others." Thanks for the words of wisdom Dan.
Great post Mike. A couple things come to mind that are really high-marks of real effective leaders:
Humility (Giving and lifting others up) &
Teach-ability (The willingness to learn from any and everyone)
Stephen:
The subtleties of your insights are spot- on here, but the real gem is: "Stay low on the ladder of inference." Thanks for sharing the keen observations.
How's the book coming?
Hi Artie:
You nailed it with both of these…Leadership without humility and a penchant for learning may be a lot of things, but it's not leadership. Following are a couple of related posts that those interested in the topics of humility and learning may find useful: http://www.n2growth.com/blog/humility-and-leaders... http://www.n2growth.com/blog/the-learning-ceo
For those of you not familiar with Artie, I've been following his work for sometime now. I'd highly recommend following him on Twitter (@ArtieDavis).
This post really resonated with me as I'm sure it did with many others as well.
I once worked for someone who I consider to be extremely high on the "intellectual" intelligent scale but bankrupt when it came to emotional intelligence. He accomplished a lot of things in his young life but not near as many as he could have. It was very painful to watch and be part of it.
I hate to stereotype or generalize about intelligence and leadership, but my personal experience definitely supports your post and I think the short list at the end nails it.
Thanks.
Hi Brian…
Thanks for the comment. Your observations about EQ is spot-on. Bonus points to those leaders who combine EQ and IQ with a strong dose of humility. Thanks Brian.
Allow me to echo the 'spot on' comments above!
In the heyday of Bell Northern Research / Northern Telecom (later Nortel) there was a common saying about the scientists and engineers often promoted to leadership positions;
'You can educate 'em, but you can't train 'em"
The saying came from too many of their ilk, while definitely intelligent, in many cases genius, but with horrendous leadership skills.
a) Do, don't teach (no one else could do better)
b) Micromanage (Boss knows best – always)
c) Zero tolerance (if you can't keep up with my thinking – get out)
d) Blindness (an elegant engineering solution trumps all else)
In summary, I think that this is a curse that is often found in the scientific / technical communities where the individual that may have been the 'best engineer' – may not always transition into the 'best leader'
Thank you once again & regards,
Elliot
Yes. Intellegence for most jobs is highly over rated. You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room to be the most effective leader in the room. EQ trumps IQ.
Hi Peter:
Thanks for sharing the story…It's sad that so many bright people end-up unknowingly using their intelligence as a weapon against themselves. Always appreciate your insights Peter…
Hi Elliot:
The four items mentioned in your list regrettably happen to exist in many domains far beyond the engineering field. In my experience is always seems to boil down to focus – a person is either focused inwardly or outwardly. They either focus on self or on others, their work, or the impact of their work on others. Thanks for sharing Elliot.