Flu and Egg

Few characteristics are more valued, or valuable, in modern

Western society than intelligence. As Herrnstein and Murray’s

(1994) comprehensive analysis revealed, in addition to its link to

job performance, intelligence is associated with many social advantages,

including employment, economic self-sufficiency, affluence,

educational achievement, marital stability, legitimacy, and

lawful behavior. Schmidt and Hunter (2000) went so far as to

proclaim, “Intelligence is the most important trait or construct in

all of psychology, and the most ‘successful’ trait in applied psychology”

(p. 4). The value that society places on intelligence is no

more evident than in people’s views of the traits and skills of

leaders. In a Gallup Poll before the 2000 presidential election, 90%

of Americans responded that understanding complex issues was

extremely or very important in determining for which candidate

they would vote. Lord, Foti, and De Vader (1984) found that of 59

characteristics such as honesty, charisma, and kindness, intelligence

was the most prototypical of a leader. Indeed, Lord et al.

found that intelligence was the only attribute that is seen as a

critical feature that must be possessed by all leaders.

Reviews of the literature on the traits of effective leaders have

reinforced the importance of intelligence to leadership (e.g., House

& Aditya, 1997). Intelligence has emerged as an important characteristic

of leaders in most qualitative reviews of the literature

(Bass, 1990; Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991; Mann, 1959; Stogdill,

1948). Other reviewers of this literature, though, have been more

equivocal. For example, Fielder (2002) concluded, “Intellectual

abilities . . . do not predict leadership performance to any appreciable

degree” (p. 92).

To more accurately determine the relationship between traits

and leadership, Lord, De Vader, and Alliger (1986) used metaanalysis

to aggregate the results of studies on the trait theory of

leadership. In...