IQ+EQ+DQ IS REQUIRED FOR THE NEXT CEO OF THE USTA
By Javier Palenque

The USTA’s next CEO will have to make decisions each day: big and small, positive, and negative, popular, and unpopular. All of them affect the mission (the key shareholder), the customers (broadcasters, patrons, sponsors, and the paying public), the employees, stakeholders (communities, coaches, parents, kids, clubs and cities and parks) and let us not forget our society as a whole (which needs help). To make these decisions in moral and ethical ways, I believe we must adopt the essential qualities of a modern leader who is worldly and of course savvy and above all one that has the vision to follow for the game and the organization. Successful leaders today and in the decades to come must possess what McKinsey consultants call a triple-threat leadership capability: IQ+EQ+DQ. In other words, they must possess a combination of two familiar attributes — intellect and emotional intelligence — and one that I believe must be recognized and highlighted: decency.

What is business decency? It is a gesture offered without expectation of reward that in ways small and large changes the corporate culture for the better.

Of course, competence is a requirement for business leaders and much of it is categorized under IQ (intelligence quotient). I am not talking about having a high IQ, what I am talking about is the broad idea of business competency and an understanding of what it takes to be successful today. This of course means understanding our population, our sport, our poor governance model that needs change, the burden of the status quo, and the need for new ideas and people to transform an old and stodgy organization that is heavy in times when it needs to be light, young, and fun to be part of, exactly the opposite of what it is.

All of you of course are also familiar with the concept of EQ (Emotional Intelligence), which is the self-awareness of emotions, both others’ and your own. Possessing high EQ means a manager can understand how someone is feeling and can read a room and act on that information. However, EQ doesn’t mean a person’s actions consider what is best for others. Emotional awareness and empathy don’t equate to compassion and integrity. People can have EQ yet use it to manipulate people for self-interest. EQ doesn’t always mean doing the right thing. This is very…