What is Collaborative Intelligence (CQ)? CQ is the ability to create, contribute to and harness the power within networks of people and relationships.
Fire fighters, Emergency Room units, and sports teams mention "CQ experiences" a lot. They are very often great examples of "high CQ teams." Members speak about the entire team acting as one, almost as if they had tapped into a "group mind," or a "collaborative force field." This typically enables participants to coordinate their actions closely with everyone else.
People also refer to the experience of accessing intelligence beyond their own, as if they are augmented by something outside of themselves. These extreme experiences of collaboration are examples of high CQ. While these circumstances may be exceptional, CQ is not limited to these extraordinary circumstances, in other words CQ can be developed within any group of people.
Several million ants sharing a colony do a better job collaboratively, than we do in most of our organizations. Unprecedented levels of connection via the internet and intranets have, as yet to be transformed into unprecedented levels of collaboration. Although technology is an incredibly useful tool, collaborative intelligence is fundamental quantified by what humans can and will do together, rather than what a piece of software will allow them to do (because there is no guarantee they will).
- CQ is a systemic intelligence that emerges as we come to realize individually that "we are all in this together"
- CQ is a set of capabilities, everyone has them; in most part they are simply not expressed or accessed as much as they can be
- CQ can be expanded and strengthened through specific processes
The future is bright because there is a growing awareness of the deeper levels of connection that exist between all human beings. This is just as true for business. People are becoming more systemically aware. For the first time in human history the average North American has access to information showing them the connection between something going on the other side of the planet and their own spending habits, for instance.
My new book, "Teaching an Anthill to Fetch - Developing Collaborative Intelligence @ Work," provides a practical outline for developing collaborative intelligence within business teams. This book is also about treating people fairly and employee motivation. An anthill can survive and feed itself in some of the most hostile environments. No single ant knows how it all works - nor does it need to. Individually ants are pretty dumb creatures, collectively they are very smart. Human beings, on the other hand, are individually very smart and collectively, well....
In the environment we live in today, never has our ability to "pull together" been more important or more challenged. Developing ways of collaborating becomes a game everyone needs to play. Collaborative Intelligence (or CQ) exists in all groups and is defined as the harnessed intelligence and energy of networks of people. Highly successful organizations are those with the most collaboratively intelligent teams - this is no accident.
'Teaching an Anthill to Fetch' was written by accomplished business consultant and professional speaker Stephen James Joyce and provides a practical outline of how to develop collaborative intelligence within groups, teams and organizations. The desired result is the development of "high CQ teams." At the end of each chapter there are CQ Tools™ - exercises that enable the reader to explore the skills that develop CQ.
Buy this book from Amazon.com today:
Teaching an Anthill to Fetch - Developing Collaborative Intelligence @ Work
Peter Shepherd's review:
We can develop ourselves cognitively (to perceive new angles on problems), emotionally (mastering our emotional responses), spiritually (realizing our deepest self) and socially (in terms of how we relate and collaborate with others). What we do for ourselves means little if we can't work well with others. However, if we can collaborate effectively there's nothing that cannot be achieved. Stephen Joyce's book brings all these issues together quite brilliantly; he clearly points out the barriers to collaboration and offers practical exercises to overcome them. It's a must-read if you're working with others toward a worthwhile goal.
Free download!
Stephen has kindly provided the first two chapters of his book as a free download for Cultivate Life! subscribers... Excerpt - 64 pages so you can get a real good idea, but don't forget to buy the book!
Visit his web site and take the free 'CQ Quiz.' Stephen can be reached at: (toll free) 1- 866 - 912 5210. The reader may also wish to visit Stephen's Getting Clever Together blog.
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