I read an article this week called “How High is your CQ?” The term CQ, or collaborative intelligence, is new in my vernacular, but the concepts in the article are not.
According to the article’s author, John Butcher, CQ is a special kind of emotional intelligence required by those tackling complex social problems using a collaborative approach. In our work we call it a collaborative mindset, or collaborative muscle, an ability to both think and act differently.
The article reflects strongly our experience that CQ, or a collaborative mindset, involves the capability, when working with others, to:
- listen intently with a genuine desire to understand what the other person is saying, and what they are not saying
- see things from an other’s point of view or “walk in each other’s shoes”
- process information effectively, even when it doesn’t fit easily with our own philosophies or values.
In addition CQ requires the ability to:
- build and maintain trusting relationships
- be comfortable working in situations of uncertainty
- explore together how the bigger system works of which the presenting problem is an integral part .
- understand and appreciate the problem and the system from the perspectives of all who have lived experience of them, as well as subject experts
- take an experimental approach to solution finding not spending too much time in identifying the “right” answer but trying different ways forward and learning from each one.
We find that CQ cannot be learned in a classroom; people learn CQ by doing the work, by establishing a collaboration, by being personally committed and by being supported by an organisation that genuinely wants to create a more collaborative internal culture.
I think the term CQ is a good one, coming as it does after Daniel Goleman introduced the term EQ for Emotional Intelligence. In today’s world CQ will be just as important as both IQ and EQ, and we look forward to helping client organisations develop it as a required skill. I’d be very interested to know what you think your CQ is.