There is an ongoing debate over whether the key quality of a leader is intelligence. Some believe that good leadership isn’t possible if the person in charge isn’t intelligent, while others argue that a leader’s job consists of many aspects, so there are other qualities, such as resilience and courage, which are far more important. I stick to the opinion that a good commander has to be clever, but that trait alone is not enough.
A non-intelligent man doesn’t have the skills to think everything through. He has to heavily rely on his team for help. However, a leader has to lead, and that is the primary reason why they were chosen: they have to be able to command a group, make plans, and bring them to reality. Moreover, intelligence isn’t a skill that can be taught: a person has to be born with it, which may help distinguish good candidates for the role. The head of a project, whichever it may be, should be able to guide their team and do it with ease, so as to develop the project further, rather than make bad decisions and inevitably guide it to failure.
Conversely, if a commander’s only attribute is intelligence, that would make him fit to be part of the team, but certainly not the head. If a person isn’t brave, can’t make decisions, and is self-centered, then he’s not in the right position to lead a country, business, or organization. Furthermore, being the head of something also means having the ability to manage your people, and with only being smart you won’t have that in you.
Overall, intelligence is one of the most important qualities of a leader, without it, a person isn’t fit to command a team. Nevertheless, being intelligent is not enough to make a good leader, and one should also have other skills, such as decision-making and management.