1. LEVERAGING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES AS
PROJECT MANAGEMENT VALUE ADD
John Sutherland BA, Dip TP, Dip Tch, M Soc Sc
Multiple Intelligences
In the previous article the focus was on Emotional Intelligence and Project
Management. Here we look at the broader theory of Multiple Intelligences on which
those who developed the concept of Emotional Intelligence drew upon.
The theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) was developed by Howard Gardner, an
Educational Psychologist from Harvard. By examining a range of social contexts
and ethnic groups across many countries Gardner was able to identify seven
intelligences that were essential to human functioning. After further research he
later identified two additional intelligences.
MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES
As developed by Howard Gardner Educational Psychologist Harvard
1. Linguistic Intelligence. Entails facility in the use of spoken and written language.
2. Logical – Mathematical Intelligence. Logical intelligence is crucial for any
manager whose responsibility includes determining what has happened and what
may happen, under various scenarios. Mathematical intelligence is the capacity to
move comfortably in the world of numbers.
3. Musical Intelligence. Facility in the perception and production of music.
4. Spatial Intelligence. The capacity to form spatial representations or images in
one’s mind, and to operate upon them variously. The designer of tools of all kinds
draws on this intelligence.
5. Bodily – Kinesthetic Intelligence. The capacity to solve problems or create
products using your whole body, or parts of your body, like your hand or your
mouth.
6. Naturalistic Intelligence. Entails the capacities to make consequential
discriminations in the natural world.
7. The Personal Intelligences. a. Interpersonal Intelligence. Involves the capacity
to discriminate among persons, figure out motivations, work effectively with them
and if necessary convince and steer them. Involves social and political skills
8. The Personal Intelligences. b. Intrapersonal Intelligence. This compliments
Interpersonal intelligence and is directed inward. Involves the capacity to identify
personal feelings, goals, fears, strengths, and weaknesses. Is involved in personal
decision making.
9. Existential Intelligence. Is the intelligence with which we access our deepest
meanings, values, purposes and highest motivations.
*The Personal Intelligences 7&8 were drawn upon to develop the concept of
Emotional Intelligence
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2. Up to the time of Gardner’s research when people talked of intelligence they were
referring to the first two above 1. Linguistic Intelligence and 2. Logical-
Mathematical Intelligence on which the standard IQ tests were based and that
were the cornerstone of traditional formal education. From his research Gardner
postulated that human beings possess at least six or seven other identifiable
intelligences; that is, a half-dozen or more additional forms of mental
representation. Obviously some of these are more relevant to the world of project
management than others.
The Intelligences Foundational to Project Management
The intelligences that have been foundational in project management have been
two and four listed above; 2. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence and 4.Spatial
Intelligence. The project manager of substance, the gifted technician, has always
drawn on Logical-Mathematical and Spatial Intelligence to create and weave magic.
He is the magician, the technical innovator creating new technologies that have the
“wow” factor.
All good project managers possess these intelligences, the great ones are the true
magicians. They weave magic making the unimaginable visible, possible and
achievable. These two intelligences are still foundational for the project manager
today.
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The Creative Challenges of the 21 Century
We live in an age of unprecedented change affecting all areas of our lives including
personal, work, social, cultural, political and religious domains. We also live and
conduct business in the context of globalization with all the demands, as well as
opportunities this presents. On the one hand the rate of change and the amount of
information people are required to process can be overwhelming and
unmanageable, creating enormous stress and dysfunction in individuals,
organisations and societies. But this constant change can be harnessed and the
new opportunities it brings taken advantage of by developing and utilizing multiple
intelligences.
As has been noted above, the project manager as the gifted technician has always
drawn on logical-mathematical intelligence and spatial intelligence and to a lesser
degree 1. Linguistic Intelligence to communicate ideas.
In terms of the challenge of rapid change and globalisation, the question needs to
be raised what other intelligences need to be embraced and developed in project
management? A helpful way to approach this question is in terms of the
characteristics of the new paradigm that these challenges are bringing about.
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3. No longer is the gifted individual directive project manager able to manage
increasing complex and global projects on his own; the rate of change and
complexity of tasks make this impossible. This dynamic forces a participatory
approach to project management involving teams, interdependencies and
collaboration often at a global level. If the modern project manager is going to be
effective in this changing environment, they will need to develop and harness what
Gardner refers to as the Personal Intelligences.
The Personal Intelligences
There are two types of Personal Intelligences; the Interpersonal and the
Intrapersonal. 7. Interpersonal Intelligence is directed outwards and is used to
discriminate among people, figure out their motivations, work effectively with them
and if necessary, steer them in the direction one needs them to go. 8.
Intrapersonal Intelligence, which is directed inwards, is the complement to
Interpersonal Intelligence. The person with this type of intelligence has a good
working model of themselves; can identify personal feelings, goals, strengths, fears
and weaknesses. It is also used along with 9. Existential Intelligence to make
judicious decisions in ones life. As has been noted the world of project
management today along with most other businesses involves working with other
people especially collaboratively in teams. Those project managers who have
knowledge of people, both generically and specifically, have a singular advantage.
Whether one is leading a team or serving as a member, sensitivity to others is a
crucial asset which adds value at all levels. The importance of the Personal
Intelligences in the business domain is evidenced by the enormous popularity of
the concept of Emotional Intelligence introduced by Daniel Goleman and others
that has been discussed in depth in a previous article on this website.
Emotional competence and sensitivity to others that is associated with
Interpersonal Intelligence is not however a single holistic capacity. There are
different separate facets to interpersonal intelligence such as; sensitivity to
temperament or personality, ability to anticipate the reactions of others, the skills of
leading or following effectively, the capacity to mediate and resolve conflicts. As
Gardner himself states, the deeper personal intelligences are probed, the more
facets emerge. Different varieties of leadership are being acknowledged, along with
different approaches to negotiation and wider varieties of personality types. All of
these help in fine tuning organisations and project management teams to respond
more efficiently and effectively to increasingly more complex demands.
8. Intrapersonal intelligence is also important and helpful. To operate effectively
and achieve various personal goals in the changing and global market place
intrapersonal intelligence is central because it gives one the capacity to distinguish
one’s own feelings, desires, needs, anxieties and gives a realistic knowledge of
ones own personal abilities.
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4. Existential Intelligence
It could be argued that 9. Existential Intelligence is also an intelligence critical to
the modern project manager and the individuals that make up project management
teams. In a post modern world, societies, cultures, religions and institutions
deconstruct in the face of rapid change. In every dimension of life people are
thrown back on their own personal meaning system and values to develop a
platform from which they can operate and make judgements. Existential intelligence
enables us to deal with what can be called “Iconic Change”; that is, change that
effects us at our deepest belief, value and meaning systems.
By using our existential intelligence to build personal meaning and value systems
from which we construct meanings, beliefs and values, we build a platform and
anchor ourselves. This means we can operate in the world with integrity and a
centeredness which stops us being swept away by the “white water” of continuous
change.
The Value of Harnessing Multiple Intelligences
By developing and harnessing multiple intelligences businesses can broaden the
thought action repertoires of individuals and teams involved in their organisations
making them more effective and successful. Individuals and teams become more
relaxed, less stressed and as a consequence their problem solving capacity is
increased and creativity and innovation flow. Value is added at every level of a
business and output and sustainability is enhanced in the short and long term.
What is referred to as “Flow” begins to happen. “Flow” occurs when the challenges
people and teams face are just slightly above their capabilities/skills levels. People
have the ability to do a task and overcome the challenge, but to do so they have to
become so focused on what they are doing that problems and resistances seem to
disappear and things flow. Time goes very quickly and those doing the work
become creative and innovative and end up with a sense of satisfaction and
achievement when the task is successfully completed and something of quality is
created. As a consequence people feel more positive, empowered, are more
productive and find their work and lives more meaningful.
In the modern work environment with the ever increasing complexity of tasks and
projects which have to be dealt with, the use of multiple intelligences becomes
central. Companies have to utilize multi-disciplinary or, in terms of what is being
discussed here, multi-intelligence teams to get this “Flow” in the workplace that
brings with it sustainable successful and superior outcomes. Without multi-
intelligence teams working in harmony in businesses individuals and teams, even
extremely gifted ones, are overwhelmed and set up for failure being swept away by
the “white water” of constant change and ever increasing complexity.
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5. The use of multiple intelligences ends up being a win/win situation for an
organisation. It helps increase managers, workers and client’s sense of self worth
and wellbeing in the face of turmoil and chaos that constant change often
produces.
Effectively introducing multiple intelligences both empowers those in businesses to
be innovative and, at the same time, requires them to embrace innovation. This
embracing and use of innovation has a flow-on affect producing a successful
outcome reflecting best practice in the fullest sense.
Leveraging Multiple Intelligences in Project Management
It is not possible for a single individual to be gifted in every intelligence relevant to
project management. However because of the rise of a multi-disciplinary team
approach in project management today different multiple intelligences sets
possessed by different team members can be leveraged to add maximum value at
every phase of the project. This requires good leadership skills on the part of the
project leader. They will need to develop and harness the Personal Intelligences if
he is going to be able to coordinate and motivate team members to maximise their
efforts.
The Use of Multiple Intelligences at Paradigm Icon
Coming out of its innovative and cutting edge approach, Paradigm Icon has
developed tools which facilitate the use of multiple intelligences and which are
enhanced by using multiple intelligences to give businesses a cutting edge
advantage over their business competitors. The MP-ReMS™ project delivery
platform developed by Paradigm Icon and used successfully by its clients is one
such tool.
The MP-ReMS™ project delivery platform serves as the “place” where a leadership
team discerns what is valued and what is valuable to the sustainability and future
development of the business. From this “place” the leadership team is resourced
with tools, techniques and processes which give it the confidence to make the
timely and appropriate decisions that are needed and necessary day in day out.
An effective leadership team can only do this if they utilize multiple intelligences
and the team possesses within it all the intelligences mentioned above that are
relevant to the world of project management. For example without the abilities
embraced by the 7. Interpersonal Intelligences and the 8. Intra personal
Intelligences along with 2. Logical Mathematical Intelligence and 4. Spatial
Intelligence, the intelligences that foundational in project management, a
leadership team will founder and be ineffective.
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6. While Paradigm Icon has always intuitively accessed many of the intelligences
which have only relatively recently been acknowledged it is now working them in a
more focused way. The development of the MP-ReMS™ project delivery platform
tool is one example of this, it resources Paradigm Icons clients to be able to utilize
multiple intelligences in a way that gives their businesses a cutting edge advantage.
Paradigm Icon continues working at ways to further harness and develop the use of
Multiple Intelligences in the project management arena to resource its clients to be
even more effective and successfully face the challenges of the 21st century.
References
Howard Gardner (2004). Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing
Our Own and Other People’s Minds.
Howard Gardner (2000). Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the
Twenty-First Century.
John P. Kotter and Dan S. Cohen (2002). The Heart of Change.
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