 According to Robert A. Kann , Maria Theresa was a monarch of above @-@ average qualifications but intellectually inferior to Joseph and Leopold . He asserts that she nevertheless possessed qualities appreciated in a monarch : warm heart , practical mind , firm determination and sound perception . Most importantly , she was ready to recognise the mental superiority of some of her advisers and to give way to a superior mind while enjoying support of her ministers even if their ideas differed from her own . Joseph , however , was never able to establish rapport with the same advisers , even though their philosophy of government was closer to Joseph 's than to Maria Theresa 's . 
