Even when leaders show strong potential regarding their intellectual capital, their social capital is key. Social capital concerns the network and connections that leaders have at their disposal. As David Ogilvy, the wizard advertising tycoon who inspired the Mad Men character of Don Draper used to say, “Contacts mean contracts.” Who you know determines not just how you lead, but also whether you lead at all, wherever you operate.

Finally, good leadership requires psychological capital, that is, how individuals will lead and whether they will make use of their capabilities.

Summing up, if someone has the right intellectual capital, social capital, and psychological capital, they will have more potential to be a good leader. But it’s not guaranteed.

As a consequence, organizations often assume that a leader’s career success reflects his or her performance—the more senior a leader, the more talented the person must be.

Interestingly, network analysis can reveal significant gaps between who the official leaders are and who is informally exercising leadership in the organization. For instance, research has shown that there is little overlap between individuals who are acting as the main agents of innovation—by generating ideas and proactively translating creative initiatives into actual innovations—and those with a formal innovation leadership role.