For Leaders Which Is Most Important IQ, EQ or is it DQ?

We keep hearing about the importance of IQ and EQ for a leader, and people often question which of these is most important.

I always come down on the side of EQ, it’s EQ which allows us to get the best out of our teams. It’s EQ which allows a leader to leverage our networks, build trust through empathy with our teams and have that self knowledge which allows us to be authentic.

But actually I think one of the most important aspects for a leader is DQ.

DQ is Delivery Quotient, the ability of a leader to deliver results, to get stuff done.

Leadership is ultimately about achieving things, it’s impossible to be considered a good leader if you never achieve anything, no matter how charismatic, authentic or likeable you are.

However, you can’t be a great leader if just have DQ alone, although I have worked with many leaders who did. If you only have DQ, then you definitely have the ability to get things done, achieve results, but more often than not you lose the team because of a lack of empathy.

I worked with one leader who did a fantastic job of delivering a large transformational project, but at the end of it, no one wanted to work with him again. People looked to get from under his control, some even choosing to leave the company to ensure they didn’t have to work with him.

When I discussed this with him, his people skills that is, he said ‘people skills don’t matter, only results matter!’ .

Now whilst it’s true that results are important, the fact that he had left a trail of dead bodies, people who loathed him, who never wanted to work with him again, meant that it would be practically impossible for him to sustain success.

To be considered a great leader, or even just a good leader, we need to have a track record of sustainable success and for this DQ alone is not enough.

Great leaders have a blend of IQ, EQ and DQ, they are live in the sweet spot which is the intersection of these.

If you have the right mix EQ and DQ, then we can build powerful teams which are inspired, well motivated and have great teamwork, and if you add authenticity, a good vision to the leadership, you will have an organisation that can achieve anything.

As potential leaders, or existing leaders, we should assess ourselves in these three areas and see where we are strong and where we weak and look to strengthen those areas in which we have improvement potential.

Just focusing on improving our EQ will not make us a great leaders if we lack delivery capability, and if we just focus on our DQ and have little to no EQ, then we will never fulfil our potential.

Great leaders are well rounded, they are authentic, and have strong emotional intelligence and excellent delivery capabilities.

So which area do you need to focus on, in order to become a great leader?

Gordon Tredgold

#Leadership Principles