Are you a hiring manager or senior leader in your organization?
In our relentless pursuit of business triumph, we’ve become enamored with degrees and academic merits. These undoubtedly shine a light on one’s intelligence, a crucial trait for any organization. It’s time we shift our lens from mere IQ to a lesser-explored, equally pivotal trait – smartness. Intelligence PLUS Smartness results in individual and organizational success.
Intelligence, indicated by academic credentials, captures an individual’s ability to understand complex notions, extract wisdom from experiences, and reason well. Our educational institutions teach students to leverage and hone their intelligence. Look closely and you’ll see that progression from kindergarten to primary, middle and high schools is based on one’s intelligence. So too is getting into a good college… and getting hired out of college (it’s based on intelligence – academic credentials).
The real world demands more than just raw intelligence. It calls for smartness – the ability to employ intelligence in the real world. Too many people mistakenly believe that intelligence plus emotional intelligence will ensure success. Eight years of research, including data from a range of people, including graduates of elite universities has identified 16 factors (one of which is emotional intelligence) required to bridge intelligence to success.
Smart individuals skillfully wield their intelligence to tackle challenges, pioneer innovation, and deftly maneuver interpersonal dynamics. They think on their toes, capture the pulse of their surroundings, and achieve successful outcomes. These agents of change exemplify nimbleness, adjusting their course of action in response to real-time feedback. Colleges do little to teach students smartness, or how to leverage and hone it.
We need to change the way we hire to look for smartness as well as intelligence. If we hire people who are both intelligent and smart, we can make better hires and build organizations that can achieve more successful outcomes. After all, isn’t that what leaders and organizations want?
We’ve created a unique online assessment tool that identifies a candidate’s smartness across 16 pivotal factors – a snapshot of an individual’s mindset and potential, beyond just academic prowess. If you want to learn more about this new approach to hiring and how it can help your organization succeed, get in touch. We’re here to help you hire smarter for a brighter future.
P.S. This assessment can also be used to identify high-potential employees, improve existing employees and teams, and enhance the potential of individuals, irrespective of their intelligence or smartness.
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