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The Missing Quotient Necessary for Modern Leaders

IQ & EQ: The Foundations

We’ve heard of the crucial mix of IQ and EQ in order to be a successful leader. ‘Successful’ is the aspect more difficult to attain in management. The criteria is always evolving – is there something more that can improve leadership further?

Being in a position of management does not automatically mean that the decisions made will always be in the best interest of the majority. Business leaders make daily decisions which affect many people: their own employees, consumers of their products, their investors and many others. Those who obtain success are leaders who possess a balance of IQ, EQ and DQ, the latter being one of the lesser known quotients.

Intellect is essential in a leader as their intelligence determines their ability to think of new and creative innovations along with the implications. Leaders tend to have a higher IQ because their competencies are more advanced than the average. In this day and age, it is no surprise that emotional quotient is heavily weighed upon as well in terms of achievement.  The smartest person in the room will not necessarily be a leader if they do not know how to approach the others in their presence.

The Missing Quotient

It is logical that a leader needs to possess both intellect and emotions strong enough to persuade others to follow their lead. What about DQ? The lesser known quality amongst those in successful leadership positions is decency quotient. What exactly does that encompass?

DQ goes a step further but is still attached to EQ. Where EQ measures your ability to emotionally care for and empathise with others, DQ refers to the genuine desire to care. Where one may be emotionally aware of another (EQ), only when they ensure the other is enjoying their tasks and feeling valued does it count in the area of DQ.

According to the Harvard Business Review, Dean of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business’ Bill Boulding recalls the first time he heard of DQ. Ajay Banga, the CEO of Mastercard, brought it to his attention. “If you can bring your decency quotient to work every day, you will make the company a lot of fun for people — and people will enjoy being there and doing the right thing.” 

DQ Moving Forward

This makes sense in many ways. Not only will people have a more enjoyable work life if their manager or CEO possesses a high DQ level, but they will have a better connection between each other as well. The aspect of humanity is one that can sometimes go amiss when paired with authority.  

If businesses can build their model based on decency and increase the importance of it, the implications for their staff and thus their productivity can skyrocket. It is about genuine connection and ultimately, the value of teamwork.

The push to raise the level of importance of DQ to that of the same for IQ and EQ needs to be engrained into the brains of our leaders today. The others will follow by example. Those who can attain a balance of all three quotients will distinguish themselves above the rest.

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