In today's complex corporate world, contemporary governance calls for a varied and versatile cognitive approach to problems – demanding times require nimble minds and rounded perspectives.

The authors' research has identified five key leadership intelligences – the 5Qs – which high-performing leaders need to simultaneously employ in order to achieve transformational change. These are: IQ (cognitive intelligence); EQ (emotional intelligence); PQ (political intelligence); RQ (resilience quotient); and MQ (moral intelligence).

The 5Qs come together to inform every aspect of leadership, and each of them can, in different ways, be nurtured and practised through learning and development. Andrew Kakabadse and Ali Qassim Jawad have tested the 5Qs on leaders worldwide, applying them at all levels of leadership in order to explore the combinations of intelligences needed to become a well-rounded, effective leader in any situation.