This article is shared with permission from Les Morgans and – FQUR
Research shows that the real driver for creativity is twofold – 1) an appetite for discovery and 2) a passion for work itself. Being told that there is one correct answer to any question smothers/stifles creative thought.
We are embodied beings, and our physical (PQ), mental (IQ), emotional (EQ) and spiritual (SQ) well-being are intimately interconnected and interdependent. Schools generally separate us from that holistic concept and highlight in general only the mental with all other quotients suffering.
IQ is of course the idea that we each have a set amount of innate intelligence which can quickly be tested and given a number; Competence. This is with no thought at all, about the person’s character and their ability to be truthful or trustworthy which surely should be a pre-requisite of any workplace and effective society?
In order for the world of work to be sustainable it requires dogged determination in continually seeking new answers to new and unprecedented situations.
So – what is resilience?
- The ability of a substance, person or object to spring back into shape.
- The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.
- The ability to cope with and rise to the inevitable challenges, problems and setbacks you meet in the course of your life, and come back stronger from them.
Resilience relies on different skills and draws on various sources of help, including rational thinking skills, physical and mental health, and your relationships with those around you. Bearing in mind that I believe all learning comes from moving into ‘discomfort’ and thus a self-desired improvement in self-awareness; resilience is simply sticking with something due to that crucial inner desire of learning. Remember that a habit is created at the confluence of three things – two IQ and one EQ. Knowledge, skill and desire, and the only one that matters is the one no one else can give you ‘Desire – the ‘want to’ coming from within ourselves.
Schooling gives you the Knowledge (what to & why to) and Skill (the how to) yet the one that everyone identifies as the most important, when I ask the question ‘are all three equal or is there one more important than the others’ is Desire.
The latest research, finally looking past Neanderthal, narrow, and ultimately undermining IQ scores, clearly identifies that what you achieve, relies far more on your passion and perseverance – resilience – than any cognitive intelligence that peaks at around twenty one and diminishes thereafter.
Here, it is worth pausing to consider Darwin’s opinion on the determinates of achievement – that is, his belief that ‘zeal and hard work are ultimately more important than intellectual ability. It’s how we prosper and evolve.’
I also offer this as the reason that the Google’s, Gore’s and SAS’s cultures have created the world’s three Best Companies To Work For 2016. This also aligns with the most sustainable and growing financial profits – as Profit should be an outcome of People and Passion – not the reason for it.
Can I ask therefore, how many organisations actually focus on achievement and not just the ability to do a job without any great discomfort?
When it comes to how we are in the marathon of life, physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually, counts more than baseline ability in all four quotients.
The word that is used for this ability is ‘Grit’.
Grit – is a combination of Passion and Perseverance and shows why in the creation of our life habits, the IQ aspects of Knowledge and Skill, which can far more easily be learnt, are secondary to Desire.
It is sad that at present, our intellectual, working and career prospects are almost wholly dependent on that narrow brittle competitive scoring of IQ!
So many entrepreneurs who ‘escaped’ school at fifteen or sixteen and were not ‘mind numbed’ until eighteen, twenty one or even almost to their thirties at university by ever narrower experts, had that passion to say ‘no’ to ‘schooling’ and yes to education – life education.
It is fundamentally the consistency of effort or interest over time that creates happy successful individuals and thus sustainable companies, marriages or communities; not the cleverness or intensity of standardized automatized testing.
Enthusiasm is common – Endurance is rare
Who in your organization ‘sticks with it’…….shows grit………until challenges are solved or finished? Find them, promote them, nourish them and develop them to ensure you grow the person first, then their team and your business.
