Choose and Act

Would I rather have Sarah Palin?

I listen to Denis Miller’s radio show; he occasionally says something like, “Well, I know that Sarah Palin couldn’t be a Jeopardy champ, but I’d rather have her in the Oval Office than our current president.” He usually goes on to explain that while Palin likely has a lower IQ than Obama, Miller would rather have her at the helm… that she is smart enough. I agree.

I agree because I know that high IQ doesn’t necessarily translate into the ability to lead. Leadership doesn’t necessarily require the ability to generate the most brilliant answer; leadership has much more to do with selecting a brilliant answer and acting on it. That usually has more to do with issues of character and perspective than mere intelligence. You don’t have to always generate the smartest answer (if you’re responsible for a lot, you’ll likely rarely have the expertise anyway)… you just have to be able to choose a smart answer and then act on it.