What a useful idea! I’m thinking about the implications of an NQ in other areas, like education and family life. Do you find that a high NQ also correlates with slower decision-making? Some not-so-nuanced leaders are swiftly decisive, for better or worse.
Hi Tara, great question. I thought a bit about it, and I think they are not correlated, mostly because we appear to make decisons at a speed we actually don't make them at. One reason is heuristics. For example, if someone isn't breathing you use a heuristic to a) know CPR might work, and then b) to perform CPR, so even though it would appear to be a "heroic decision just in the nick of time," you've actually trained yourself in advance. With a staff, I would think about my employees constantly, knowing their strengths and weaknesses, so when it came time to make decisions, I was able to make them quickly but they were organized in advance. I also tend to get bored and think about "what I would do if..." so I have "heuristics" for a lot of situations that would then, in the moment, look like "fast decision-making" when in reality, I'm just type-A... :)
I hope this makes sense? I thought a lot about this, and never had, so thank you!
oh, and as an educator of ten years...YES!!!! I used this with students and in classrooms constantly!! Also in hospice work: really, any field that requires "managing people and their emotions" :)
In a way, it strikes me that you might be laying out an argument for reading and the study of the humanities for anyone working with/managing people, emotions, and motivations. If the humanities train us to handle nuance, that is.
Oof, that’s a little out of reach, isn’t it? The nineteenth-century spirit of education as a public good has been declining since 1980, but hopefully we’ll see a reversal. The price tag at my state university is not as high as that, but it’s high enough to scare people away from studying the humanities.
Yeah I like teaching and studying the humanities but it is hard nowadays unless you’re an elitist or artist or whatever to ask people to pay to study the humanities- I like how Chicago and Columbia U both have mandatory humanities for undergraduate
I agree. Private financing of college (often with student debt) incentivizes the private, tangible good of vocational education more than the public good of the liberal arts.
What a useful idea! I’m thinking about the implications of an NQ in other areas, like education and family life. Do you find that a high NQ also correlates with slower decision-making? Some not-so-nuanced leaders are swiftly decisive, for better or worse.
Hi Tara, great question. I thought a bit about it, and I think they are not correlated, mostly because we appear to make decisons at a speed we actually don't make them at. One reason is heuristics. For example, if someone isn't breathing you use a heuristic to a) know CPR might work, and then b) to perform CPR, so even though it would appear to be a "heroic decision just in the nick of time," you've actually trained yourself in advance. With a staff, I would think about my employees constantly, knowing their strengths and weaknesses, so when it came time to make decisions, I was able to make them quickly but they were organized in advance. I also tend to get bored and think about "what I would do if..." so I have "heuristics" for a lot of situations that would then, in the moment, look like "fast decision-making" when in reality, I'm just type-A... :)
I hope this makes sense? I thought a lot about this, and never had, so thank you!
Yes, that makes sense.
oh, and as an educator of ten years...YES!!!! I used this with students and in classrooms constantly!! Also in hospice work: really, any field that requires "managing people and their emotions" :)
In a way, it strikes me that you might be laying out an argument for reading and the study of the humanities for anyone working with/managing people, emotions, and motivations. If the humanities train us to handle nuance, that is.
well said! (just don't charge 50k a semester for it!) :-)
Oof, that’s a little out of reach, isn’t it? The nineteenth-century spirit of education as a public good has been declining since 1980, but hopefully we’ll see a reversal. The price tag at my state university is not as high as that, but it’s high enough to scare people away from studying the humanities.
Yeah I like teaching and studying the humanities but it is hard nowadays unless you’re an elitist or artist or whatever to ask people to pay to study the humanities- I like how Chicago and Columbia U both have mandatory humanities for undergraduate
I agree. Private financing of college (often with student debt) incentivizes the private, tangible good of vocational education more than the public good of the liberal arts.
I really like this concept - adds up with EQ to be a very humanistic approach. And is like an antidote to cancel culture in the workplace.
Thank you! I agree and definitely hadn't thought about that!