No institution can possibly survive if it
needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as
to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings. ~ Peter Drucker
In examining the various leadership models and approaches
reviewed in Peter Northouse’s text, Leadership: The Theory and Practice, there
is a reoccurring theme, leaders are people with various traits, skills, characteristics,
and behaviors. They are not magical
beings who possess some other worldly charms but normal, everyday, average
people. Through their perseverance,
attitude, aptitude, relationship management, and in some cases luck, they are
able to achieve great things. I believe
that this is what Peter Drucker’s quote shown above is communicating. It is, generally, not through the genius of a
single leader that an organization moves forward but through the collective
efforts of leaders throughout all levels.
Furthermore, many of the leadership theories explored indicate
that geniuses are generally not effective leaders. The trait approach to
leadership shows that higher intelligence is required of leaders versus non
leaders. However, extremely high IQ in
relation to subordinates can have a counterproductive impact. “Leaders with higher abilities may have
difficulty communicating with followers because they are preoccupied or because
their ideas are too advanced for their followers to accept “(Northouse, 2013,
24). Often, leaders with high IQ are
lacking in EQ, emotional intelligence, and thus fail to connect with their
employees in a meaningful way.
It is only through leveraging both assigned, leadership based on
role in organization, and emergent, leadership demonstrated over time by the employee’s
interactions and communications, that organizations can improve their
efficiency and productivity. To do this, companies must look at a broad
application of leadership theories to insure they are selecting the appropriate
candidates for their unique culture and requirements. Selecting the most intelligent candidate, a
genius, without respect to their management or leadership style would likely
have debilitating consequences and failures.
