ABSTRACT
This chapter represents the confluence of two hitherto independent programs of research. One is an investigation into a component of social intelligence, conducted by the first author in collaboration with Ralph Rosnow at Temple University in Philadelphia. Based on Rosnow, Skleder, Jaeger, and Rind’s (1994) work on what they termed interpersonal acumen, or the ability to read others’ behavior, Aditya (1997) created and tested a measure for use with executives. The other research program is a cross-cultural study of leadership and national culture, initiated by the second author in 1993, with which the first author became associated in 1996. In this chapter, we draw on results from these two streams of research to explore the implications of culture for the association between interpersonal acumen and leadership effectiveness. Every leader of renown has engaged in a battle of wits, often many. At the heart of this game of the brain is the ability to decipher the underlying motives of other people’s actions. The precise extent of the role played by interpersonal acumen in leadership may be a function of follower perceptions in a given culture-
perceptions that vary widely across societies, according to findings from the GLOBE investigation.
