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The magic “I” of CIO sparks many imaginations: Chief information officer, chief infrastructure officer , Chief Integration Officer, chief International officer, Chief Inspiration Officer, Chief Innovation Officer, Chief Influence Office etc. The future of CIO is entrepreneur driven, situation oriented, value-added,she or he will take many paradoxical roles: both as business strategist and technology visionary,talent master and effective communicator,savvy business enabler and relentless cost cutter, and transform the business into "Digital Master"!

The future of CIO is digital strategist, global thought leader, and talent master: leading IT to enlighten the customers; enable business success via influence.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

The Ten Modern Intelligences to Perceive the Leadership Innovation

Leadership innovation should be the BIG IDEA and strategic imperative for the whole world.

In today’s world, the only thing is not changing is change itself, the leadership is no exception. Leadership style in 20th century is more about command and control at the hierarchical structural organization; then internet and globalization make the world more interconnected and interdependent than ever, the organization has increasingly become more complicated in the global scope and complex in the process and structure, it requires leaders with multiple leadership intelligences to handle the unprecedented challenges facing in today’s enterprise, to deliver both the humanity value and shareholder’s value, to leverage short-term profit pursuit with long-term social responsibility.

Today’s management has been educated and equipped with IQ (Rational Intelligence to make the efficient command) & EQ (Emotional Intelligence to play the poker face and control the hierarchy), it’s not qualified enough to face today’s uncertainty, here are ten modern intelligence the leader needs to cultivate to lead organization from Build to Last and Good to Great.

1. Creative Intelligence

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. (Albert Einstein)

Creative leaders naturally reinvent the open leadership, embrace the curiosity, and inspire the innovation with discipline, since curiosity beat IQ in every chance to create the fresh new idea, and innovation imperative is top priority for every company in every industry in today’s dynamic environment: business model needs to be changed every couple of years, and the latest technologies are revitalizing what we do business in radical way, the creative leaders will orchestrate the innovative value chain to catalyze the organization’s change management and sustainable growth.


2.Cultural Intelligence

To lead the people, walk behind them.” Lao Tzu quotes

To lead the people, walk behind them.” Lao Tzu quotes

What is the culture, culture is what has been said, and the thought from the world. Today’s leader should better become the multi-culture evangelist, to appreciate the beauty of diversity, to expand the global vision via the expanded lens of deeper understanding about the cultural edge, to cure the organization with both Western medicine and Eastern acupuncture.

Culture like water, and organization like the ship, the enchanting open culture may push the ship toward the right direction, and the out-of –date culture may not only drag down the ship, even sink it.

The modern leaders with cultural intelligence could not only lead their own organization to the global scope, but also make bigger impact on human society as a whole.

3.Collective intelligence
 “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. -John Fitzgerald Kennedy quotes


Great leaders are good listeners, and the indefatigable learners, ask the right questions, to approach solutions via the collective wisdom. Today’s social networking and enterprise collaboration tools have provided the ideal platform to streamline the brainstorming process, The future of management will always lead the perfect mix of physical team and virtual team, functional team & borderless team, working staff and subject zealots

The leaders with collective intelligence are not just issuing the command base on the status quo, more importantly they need synthesize all sort of solutions with speed, master the talent pool with democratic discipline

4. Intrapersonal Intelligence 

 Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”
John Maxwell quotes


Intrapersonal Intelligence could be the high level of EQ, the leaders may need self-awareness (know their own strength and weakness well), self-reflection (evoke the magical thinking, visualize the purpose), self-guidance (via learning, experiencing & practicing), plus, self-discipline, self-examination and self-governance.

The leaders with intrapersonal intelligence may become the symbol of growth, following Peter Drucker’s management manifesto, drive the organization to both doing the right thing and dong the thing right.

5. Influential Intelligence
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.  John Quincy Adams

The leaders has the ability to influence peers and superiors as they undertake a broad range of crucial decisions involving the issues as strategy, budgets, branding, pricing, and technologic vision, a mindset could be called influential intelligence.

The executives with influential competence will be more flexible and less rigidly tied to top-down, command-and-control environment, they value the employees, understand the mind-set of all members of group, they do not dominate discussions, instead, they encourage open critical debate, and encourage each team member to contribute positively.


6.Value Judgment Intelligence

 Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”  Stephen R. Covey

From collective wisdom via online leadership discussion, VQ (Value Judgment Intelligence) is not just an idea, theory or concept. It is something that we scientifically identify and measure and it is a critical factor that increases or limits most other intelligences. In fact, is the fundamental driver of virtually all human choice, actions, reactions. For example, through VQ, we can identify how a person approaches and thinks about risk or how well they can adapt to change

As we discussed above, today’s enterprise may not be enough to deliver shareholder’s value only, to percept the long-term prosperity, more critically, every organization may need dliver the humanity value to advance the global society.

The leaders with value judgment intelligence could blueprint the organization’s purpose and mission more clearly, drive the change needed to build a truly great company.

7. Risk Intelligence 

One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.”   Arnold H. Glasgow quotes


Risk has never been critical topic than it is today, In an age of extraordinary uncertainty and global economy, how to framework the risk intelligent enterprise is the top priority at every organization’s agenda.

The leader with risk intelligence will integrate risk management into enterprise’s core decision-making processes with proactive risk-control scenario, through their options in advance to better prepare and response effectively, this strategy will allow the organization to be both more resilient in dealing with adversity and more agile in pursuing opportunity.


8. Philosophical Intelligence

The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”   Jim Rohn quotes

The leaders with philosophical intelligence may evoke what we call the paradoxical thinking process, which is defined as a statement that seems contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd but that may actually be true in fact. To put in more logical way, today’s leader may always see the both sides of coin at multi-dimensional angle before making any strategic decisions.

The leaders may not only need be guided via Peter Drucker’s "Management Credo," but also digest Sun Zi’s "The Art of War" strategy as well.

9. Integral Intelligence 

When the solution is simple, God is answering. Albert Einstein


Today’s enterprise has been divided into the divisional silo, today’s leader has also been categorized as left-brain logic thinker or right-brain creative thinker; The 21st century leader should have the integral intelligence, to well integrate the art of leadership with the science of management at seamless way, to practice the management discipline with the innovative approach.

10. Reputable Intelligence

Authority without wisdom is like a heavy axe without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish. 
Anne Bradstreet


The culture and value are at the heart of reputational intelligence, the organization can’t consistently do the right things unless everyone knows what those right things are, and that start with the leadership team. The leader with reputational intelligence will bring the true value to help the organization thriving.

In today’s digitized world, how to maintain the quality reputation both at physical societal environment and internet space will be critical, since where visibility of people is greater than ever

The leaders with reputational intelligence will gain the trust, discover the truth, and keep growing themselves and their organization with reputational imperative for the long term.