From a Slashdot story on Mandrake Linux (of all things) is a link to an article entitled The Talent Myth (by Malcolm Gladwell of The New Yorker).
It’s a fascinating read about Enron and McKinsey — to an extent — but it talks largely about the seemingly (non) relation between intelligence and success.
Wagner and Robert Sternberg, a psychologist at Yale University, have developed tests of this practical component, which they call “tacit knowledge.” Tacit knowledge involves things like knowing how to manage yourself and others, and how to navigate complicated social situations. Here is a question from one of their tests:
You have just been promoted to head of an important department in your organization. The previous head has been transferred to an equivalent position in a less important department. Your understanding of the reason for the move is that the performance of the department as a whole has been mediocre. There have not been any glaring deficiencies, just a perception of the department as so-so rather than very good. Your charge is to shape up the department. Results are expected quickly. Rate the quality of the following strategies for succeeding at your new position.
a) Always delegate to the most junior person who can be trusted with the task.
b) Give your superiors frequent progress reports.
c) Announce a major reorganization of the department that includes getting rid of whomever you believe to be “dead wood.”
d) Concentrate more on your people than on the tasks to be done.
e) Make people feel completely responsible for their work. […]
[The “answer” is included later in the article]
Really, I suppose I shouldn’t have been been surprised at the quality of the writing, as Gladwell has written other engaging articles, including one of my favorites that goes into the Science of Shopping (the psychology of shopping, if you will).