--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That's really what I want in a leader; I…" description: "\"That's really what I want in a leader; I want somebody who's really, really smart.\" — Anna Quindlen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1c/anna-quindlen-467_intelligence_that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i_1593674.png" --- # That's really what I want in a leader; I want somebody… ![“That's really what I want in a leader; I want somebody who's really, really smart.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1c/anna-quindlen-467_intelligence_that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i_1593674.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1c/anna-quindlen-467_intelligence_that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i_1593674.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1c/anna-quindlen-467_intelligence_that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i_1593674.png) > “That's really what I want in a leader; I want somebody who's really, really smart.” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective leadership values intelligence and competence over charisma. **In simple terms:** Leaders should be smart and capable. Key Takeaway Prioritize competence when choosing leaders. Themes leadership intelligence competence Mood analytical critical objective Type advice leadership professional When to use this quote - hiring managers - team building - political appointments - project leadership Key Concepts cognitive ability decision making expertise Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance intelligence with empathy? - Can smart leaders lack emotional connection? A Different Perspective Intelligence alone may not inspire trust or loyalty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smart/) ## Related quotes > [I don't want to be a leader. I want to be one who goes around with a little oil can and offer help when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baba-amte/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-leader-i-want-to-be-one-who-goes-around-with-a/) [Baba Amte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baba-amte/) > [Everything that I do, I put my teammates first. To me, that's the mark of a true leader. That's what I want to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-davis/everything-that-i-do-i-put-my-teammates-first-to-me-that-s-the-mark/) [Vernon Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-davis/) > [You just can't tell or calibrate motive or intelligence or sense. So I don't read anything unless someone tells me that it's really smart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-just-can-t-tell-or-calibrate-motive-or-intelligence-or-sense-so-i/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [If you really want to get along with somebody, let them be themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/if-you-really-want-to-get-along-with-somebody-let-them-be-themselves/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [I don't want to be a great leader; I want to be a man who goes around with a little oil can and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baba-amte/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-great-leader-i-want-to-be-a-man-who-goes-around/) [Baba Amte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baba-amte/) > [Money always flows to the leader... If you want more money, simply become more of a leader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/money-always-flows-to-the-leader-if-you-want-more-money-simply-become/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [As a leader, you want your team to play as you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-gambhir/as-a-leader-you-want-your-team-to-play-as-you-are/) [Gautam Gambhir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-gambhir/) > [I still feel that the kind of leader I want to be is one that spends time understanding our work in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-novogratz/i-still-feel-that-the-kind-of-leader-i-want-to-be-is-one-that-spends/) [Jacqueline Novogratz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-novogratz/) > [I loved to be challenged as a leader. I do not want to be told 'yes.' I want to be told 'no.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajeev-suri/i-loved-to-be-challenged-as-a-leader-i-do-not-want-to-be-told-yes-i/) [Rajeev Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajeev-suri/) > [You really can choose to be the leader you want to be, in all parts of your life, if you take seriously the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-d-friedman/you-really-can-choose-to-be-the-leader-you-want-to-be-in-all-parts-of/) [Stewart D. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-d-friedman/) > [“I can't be the kind of leader you want me to," he says. "I will never, ever be the kind of leader you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/i-can-t-be-the-kind-of-leader-you-want-me-to-he-says-i-will-never/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [I think people expect when you have a new Premier that it's that Premier's prerogative to look at everything on the table and say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-berejiklian/i-think-people-expect-when-you-have-a-new-premier-that-it-s-that/) [Gladys Berejiklian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-berejiklian/) > [I said when I came into office that I don't want to be a great leader; I want to be a good democrat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-luis-rodriguez-zapatero/i-said-when-i-came-into-office-that-i-don-t-want-to-be-a-great-leader/) [Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-luis-rodriguez-zapatero/) > [We're all born with different talents. I'm really not that smart, but I can see things - financially and development-wise. It's just the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tilman-j-fertitta/we-re-all-born-with-different-talents-i-m-really-not-that-smart-but-i/) [Tilman J. Fertitta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tilman-j-fertitta/) > [A lot of times when you're around really, really smart people, you don't really understand them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martellus-bennett/a-lot-of-times-when-you-re-around-really-really-smart-people-you-don/) [Martellus Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martellus-bennett/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Intelligence quotes > [If you can do anything for love there's no reason you can't do everything to someone you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayjay-guillermo/if-you-can-do-anything-for-love-there-s-no-reason-you-can-t-do/) [Jayjay Guillermo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayjay-guillermo/) > [Long before the 2016 presidential campaign, confidential sources had alerted me to longstanding misuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court system and the erosion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharyl-attkisson/long-before-the-2016-presidential-campaign-confidential-sources-had/) [Sharyl Attkisson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharyl-attkisson/) > [“If people fully understand you, they will think of you as a normal, if they half understand you, will think of you as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-people-fully-understand-you-they-will-think-of-you-as-a-normal-if/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [“The mystery of the world is revealed only to the person who can look upon the material world with his physical eyes and simultaneously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/awdhesh-singh/the-mystery-of-the-world-is-revealed-only-to-the-person-who-can-look/) [Awdhesh Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/awdhesh-singh/) > [Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/plainly-the-environment-must-be-a-living-one-directed-by-a-higher/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“Your mind has the intellect to lift the world, your heart has the wisdom to better the world, and your soul has the genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/your-mind-has-the-intellect-to-lift-the-world-your-heart-has-the/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [An ex is an ex for a reason, they are an EXample of what you don't want in your future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexia/an-ex-is-an-ex-for-a-reason-they-are-an-example-of-what-you-don-t/) [Alexia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexia/) > [“When it comes to smarts, adolescents like Jesse have plenty. What they lack, however, are some of the brain-based skills that we all need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-guare/when-it-comes-to-smarts-adolescents-like-jesse-have-plenty-what-they/) [Richard Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-guare/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“A smart person learns from his mistakes, but a truly wise person learns from the mistakes of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-schramm/a-smart-person-learns-from-his-mistakes-but-a-truly-wise-person/) Ken Schramm > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/for-the-execution-of-the-voyage-to-the-indies-i-did-not-make-use-of/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) [Browse all 9,546 Intelligence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That's really what I want in a leader; I want somebody who's really, really smart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Quindlen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i-want-somebody-who-s-really/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Intelligence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i-want-somebody-who-s-really/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1c/anna-quindlen-467_intelligence_that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i_1593674.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1c/anna-quindlen-467_intelligence_that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i_1593674.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1c/anna-quindlen-467_intelligence_that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i_1593674.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That's really what I want in a leader; I want somebody who's really, really smart.” — Anna Quindlen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anna Quindlen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That's really what I want in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i-want-somebody-who-s-really/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/that-s-really-what-i-want-in-a-leader-i-want-somebody-who-s-really/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```