Why Decency is the Defining Trait That Sets The Best Leaders Apart from the Rest

As nations, organizations, companies, churches, schools and families grapple with the coronavirus crisis, it’s clear that the current situation is demanding both the best leaders and the best of leaders at all levels of society. But that begs two questions: what exactly is a leader? And more importantly, what puts someone in the echelon of the best leaders?

To answer the first question, I anchor to the work of Travis Bradbury and Kevin Kruse: a leader is someone who uses their “social influence (to) maximize the efforts of others toward the achievement of a greater good.” [1] Now more than ever it’s apparent that leadership is not a title. Leaders come from all walks of life, they are simply the people who are using influence to move others towards achieving a better tomorrow.

To answer the second question of what makes someone a best leader, I’ll share a story from a former justice of the Utah Supreme Court and current religious leader Dallin H. Oaks:

“(As a child) I lived for two years on a farm. We rarely went to town. Our Christmas shopping was done in the Sears, Roebuck catalog. I spent hours poring over its pages. For the rural families of that day, catalog pages were like the shopping mall or the Internet of our time.

Something about some displays of merchandise in the catalog fixed itself in my mind. There were three degrees of quality: good, better, and best. For example, some men’s shoes were labeled good ($1.84), some better ($2.98), and some best ($3.45).” [2]

Applying this simple analogy of “good,” “better”, “best” to leaders, we find that “good” leaders are those with high levels of intelligence and competencies, what we typically refer to as IQ. “Better” leaders are those with a high EQ, or Emotional Intelligence in addition to their high levels of IQ. These leaders understand how to recognize and manage their own emotions, and even recognize the emotions in others. But the “best” leaders are those who score high on what Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard, calls a Decency Quotient, or DQ. These leaders take their emotional intelligence to the next level by allowing it to guide their actions. A high DQ means you not only have empathy for others, but that you focus on doing right by others. Therefore, the “best” leaders score high in all three areas: IQ+EQ+DQ. (For more on Decency Quotient, I highly recommend the recent HBR article by Bill Boulding: “For Leaders, Decency Is Just as Important as Intelligence” [3])

A quote from the Christopher Nolan movie “Batman Begins” perfectly captures this sentiment: “It's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you.” The “best” leaders are those who are actively doing something decent to make the world a better place. While the world needs smart people, and those in tune with emotions, that is not the full story. The world, now and in the future, needs leaders who act on those smarts and emotions to demonstrate compassion and alleviate suffering.

We see examples of “best” leadership everyday. It can come in the form of parents who selflessly sacrifice their time, personal goals or ambitions, resources and talents for their family. It comes in the form of health care workers who are actively putting their lives at risk to save others. It comes in the form of executives putting people over profits. It comes in the form of numberless individuals and families donating time and money to worthy causes.

The “best” leaders are not necessarily those with titles, positions, or power. Rather, the “best” leaders are simply those who serve others, who act on behalf of others, and who are mindful of their impact on people and situations. We may not all be in positions where we can take grand, laudable actions. But we all can do something to serve and help others, no matter how big or small. By so doing, it will inspire others to follow suit. And for those of us who are in traditional positions of power, we can use this opportunity to be our “best” by using our power and influence to move the world forward in a positive manner.

So the invitation is for all of us to answer for ourselves: what can I do right now to join the ranks of the “best” leaders by serving others and contributing to moving the world forward?

(1) https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/in-search-of-the-definition-of-leadership.html

(2) https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/10/good-better-best?lang=eng

(3) https://hbr.org/2019/07/for-leaders-decency-is-just-as-important-as-intelligence