How to Make Smart Use of Smarts in the Workplace

Whether you're the brainiac or the boss deciding how to make the most of one, intelligence can be a burden as well as a boon. So what are we to do?

Tips for the Brainy . . .

Embrace your intelligence -- and find an employer that does the same. In these egalitarian times, emotional intelligence is more often lauded. And yes, good work requires more than intellectual horsepower. But researchers including Linda Gottfredson of the University of Delaware have found that IQ is the best predictor of employment success.

Also look for workplaces likely to attract fine minds: think tanks, universities, biotech companies, the top levels of government and venture capital, and top investment-banking, law and consulting firms.

Embrace noblesse oblige. You probably didn't earn most of your basic intelligence; you were born with it. Karmic fairness requires you to repay the universe's largess by using your intelligence for the greater good. At the risk of sounding like a cleric, ask yourself in your career and avocations: How can I use my gifts to do the most good?

And when you encounter co-workers who are a few sandwiches short of a picnic, you have an obligation to, while not hiding your intelligence, preserve their self-esteem. For example, consider whether it would be wiser to flaunt your bright idea at a meeting or share it privately with the person who needs to know about it.

Give yourself a break. No one is smart all the time. You may be brilliant, but you're human. You're going to say things that make even dim bulbs roll their eyes.

. . . and Their Bosses

Embrace your brainiacs. If you hire them, be proud that you are secure enough to follow a key rule from Management 101: Hire people smarter than yourself. And having done that, make the most of your prize hire. Don't let politics force you to treat your smart ones the same as others. Put them in the most challenging roles. If you're worried that your Captain Craniums will dominate groups, assign them to individual projects and have them submit results to the group for feedback.

Help your brainiacs develop their emotional intelligence. Your mentorship in this area may make the difference between that employee being the respected star of the team or the reviled know-it-all. If you, too, are not a tower of tact, invite your most emotionally intelligent employee to bring some one-on-one charm school to your facile but foot-in-mouth employee.

Decide how many big brains you need. Too many can make for additional disadvantages. Exceptional employees may demand exceptional compensation, and, even if you pay up, they're the most likely to be wooed away by the next intriguing opportunity. (Smart Sams get bored fast, and other employers are eager to cure their boredom.)

Also, no matter how tactful they are, the smart can dispirit slower-thinking employees. Remember when your schoolteacher's questions always spurred the same one or two kids' hands to shoot up, leaving the rest of the class sticking their tongues out at them and feeling like dunces? Know-it-alls can put a similar damper on the workplace. So finding the right mix of employees is critical.