Our unequivocal opinion is NO! At its best, a good balance will result in a charismatic entrepreneur, an engaging professor or a brilliant salesperson. However, an essential foundation will be lacking. A person balanced in IQ and EQ may still lack a sense of norms and values, the ability to distinguish good from bad and the conviction to act accordingly. Such an individual may have acquired or learnt a sense of social responsibility, but not necessarily one that is intrinsically based. Without innate conscience, IQ + EQ can easily result in unscrupulousness and unbridled selfishness.

Effective leadership necessitates Moral Intelligence, or MQ. Moral competence is a must-have for today’s leaders. It provides them with truthfulness, credibility and a sense of direction. Value-able leadership is the only enduring form of leadership – a critical asset to build companies that will last even in difficult times.

Francis Fukuyama, cultural philosopher², states that the glue of every community is trust, and a key facet of trust involves acting according to one’s principles, especially under difficult circumstances. According to Manfred Kets de Vries³, leaders are saddled with the responsibility of introducing collective value systems, by being consistent in demonstrating, and thus disseminating, values. How do they perform here? Every year, Krauthammer Observatory⁴ asks European employees to feed back about the behaviour of their managers. In terms of what managers do very well indeed, the transmission of ethical norms has risen significantly over the past three years. In 2008 only 26% of managers promoted ethical norms in an exemplary way (in a spirit of mutual commitment and dialogue), ranking managerial performance in this area 24th out of 30 competence areas. By 2010, 38% of managers were considered exemplary (ranking 3 out of 27 behaviours). Good news... and still 62% of managers could improve!

Ultimately, value-able leadership means serving as an example - not by rote, but by authenticity. Real leaders ‘walk the talk’ and treat others as they themselves expect to be treated.

Further reading or listening:

• Social Intelligence and Leadership, an interview with Daniel Goleman
• Leading the unpredictable, Erik Hoekstra, Krauthammer, September 2011
• Trust, from crisis to sustainability, Steffi Gande and Dr. Frédérique Six, Krauthammer, September 2010
• Krauthammer Observatory – Krauthammer, 2010

*Ronald Meijers was Co-Chairman of the Executive Board at Krauthammer

¹ Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Daniel Goleman, Bantam Books, 1996
² Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. Francis Fukuyama. Free Press, 1995
³ Life and Death in the Executive Fast Lane, Manfred F. R. Kets De Vries, August 1995
⁴ Krauthammer Observatory – Krauthammer, 2010