What exactly intelligence is remains a debate but for practical purposes let’s agree it is the ability to apply knowledge to every day situations. This is common sense or rather if someone fails to apply their knowledge they are said to lack common sense. Interestingly intelligent people can do things which demonstrate a lack of common sense.
Whilst on a skiing trip we waited at the bottom of the mountain for two of our friends who had gone on one last run whilst we queued up for the chairlift which was the only way off the mountain. We waited over an hour and still they had not turned up. We got cold and worried. As the last remaining skiers disembarked from the chair lift followed by the operates we were seriously considering contacting the emergency services when they appeared through the trees at the other side of the car park. Seeing the length of the queue for the return chair lift and spotting a lone skier bypass the queue and head on down they decided to follow.
They assumed the skier must know a way down despite the warning signs about the dangers of going off piste. It soon became apparent that it was a very steep and rocky descent and that the skier in front was an expert skier and they were not. They fell further and further behind, soon they could no longer see the skier in front so had to guess which unmarked route to take. The terrain became so rugged they could only progress by removing their skis and carrying them making keeping their balance even harder. They lost their footing on several occasions but had no choice but to press on.
Why did they do such a foolish and dangerous thing. They were both highly intelligent university educated professionals one a GP the other a social worker. Their answer,” The queue to come down the mountain was so long we thought it would be quicker to ski down.”
In the work place I have often noted that employees return from training courses with knowledge that they then struggle to apply. Fundamental to professional development in caring for vulnerable people are the concepts of independence, dignity, respect and choice and how these might relate to risk. Those who had been on courses had no difficult reciting these ,”values” and offering definitions and even examples and yet time and time again I found evidence of practice that went against these values. When challenged it became clear this was not due to laziness or indifference but an inability to apply the concept to new situations.
This inability to apply concepts to different and unfamiliar situations is also a feature of management. HR frequently come across this when dealing with managers actions in regards to EDI in recruitment or people management. Senior mangers also experience difficulty applying concepts such as empowerment, engagement, devolved responsibility, corporate social responsibility.
If an organisation is using, “educated to a degree level “ in their Person Specification as short hand for a level of intelligence clearly it’s a crude and ineffective criteria. What employers want is people who can apply the organisation’s corporate and professional values. The essential criteria should include the ability to apply the organisations values and concepts to any work situation. Which requires a degree of common sense rather than a university degree.
