The Existential Intelligence in the Knowledge Economy Workplace [INFOGRAPHIC]

The fourth in the ongoing series!

No intelligence is more significant in the knowledge economy workplace than the existential; the intelligence of the big picture, of contexts and connections. The existential intelligence goes beyond mere cognition to human intuition and archetypal themes that provide each of us with the dignity, integrity and aspiration to fulfill our true potential. Of special note are the functional literacies of this new age that are requisite to success in learning and doing. The existential intelligence gives our work meaning and purpose; it is the wrap-around that bundles all of the other intelligences into a cohesive operating system of the mind. Learn more about all the intelligences at the Surfaquarium.

Previous infographics in the series:

Multiple Intelligences In The Knowledge Economy Workplace [INFOGRAPHIC]

The Interpersonal Intelligence in the Knowledge Economy Workplace [INFOGRAPHIC]

The Intrapersonal Intelligence in the Knowledge Economy Workplace [INFOGRAPHIC]

For further reading:

MI21: Multiple Intelligences & the Global Knowledge Economy

Multiple Intelligences In The Knowledge Economy Workplace [INFOGRAPHIC]

Using this model mindfully, educators can apply the principles of Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory in planning and implementing learning experiences that:

• Address the emerging demands of the knowledge economy workplace.

• Support learners in developing the skills, values and attitudes that will make them college, career and citizenship ready.

• Provide the conditions for the necessary instructional shift that will transform public education to meet the needs of society today and in the future.

While Howard Gardner created his intelligence theory at the dusk of the industrial age, his greatest impact may well be its application in the dawn of the information age.

Read more here.

A Call for Compassionate Leadership

Reposted from Tanveer Naseer’s blog:

A few years ago, I wrote a piece based on a tweetchat I hosted looking at the importance of empathy in leadership. Although I wrote it many years ago, it continues to be shared in various social media channels, no doubt due to our increasing awareness of the importance of empathy to leadership roles in today’s global environment. Of course, the interesting thing about empathy is that it’s not that difficult for us to exhibit. Indeed, research from the neuroscience field has demonstrated that we’re actually hard-wired to empathize with those around us, thanks to a neural network called mirror neurons.

And the clearest example we can see of our hard-wired tendency for empathy comes from how we react to news of natural disasters or atrocities committed by other humans. Even though we may not be directly impacted by these events, it nonetheless causes a deep emotional response. While our rational mind might view these events as being not our concern, our empathy makes it so that we can’t help but feel concern and care for those we don’t even know.

But if we’re hard-wired to empathize and consequently, to exhibit compassion to those around us, how come we don’t see evidence of this behaviour in the workplace? Why are so many workplaces suffering from a lack of human compassion, connection, and shared belonging? And perhaps more importantly in light of the increasing demands for our time, attention and resources, why is addressing this critical to our ability to lead our organizations towards a more prosperous, stable, and thriving future?

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The Future of Wearable Technology in the Workplace [INFOGRAPHIC]

Technology is progressing at an astonishing rate and none more so than wearable tech. Despite this wearables are still very much a niche product and a buzzword for many but some organisations are already reaping the benefits from their employees using smartwatches, health monitors and even treadmill desks. Devices like this can boost not only wellness but also productivity, job satisfaction and even data security.

The Global Gap for Marketable Job Skills

Reposted from the WISE ed.review:

“Globally, study after study is coming up with one message: graduates lack essential skills to get by in the workplace. They lack skills like communication, teamwork, critical thinking, the ability to work under pressure, and even punctuality! In a global survey of business leaders by Hult International Business School (2013), one of the key insights was that leaders held mostly negative views on both the process and products of business education, noting that students lack ‘real world’ experience; both in terms of experience and learning from faculty with real world experience. The survey noted that same missing skills [namely self-awareness, comfort with uncertainty, creativity, and critical thinking] while noting that education systems overemphasize functional knowledge.

This has become a ‘global gap’, and the search for ways to close the gap are afoot; in early 2014, the Economist teamed up with Lumina Foundation to launch a global challenge [with a reward to 10,000 USD] to find solutions to bridge the gap between the workforce and higher education. The central question in this competition is: How can companies work with higher education to ensure that the higher education system better prepares workers to be successful on the job and teaches skills that will remain valuable in the future.

Are schools and higher education institutions doing enough to prepare students for the world of work? Isn’t it their role to equip students with the skills that employers demand? Why are employers not doing much about it, and should they do more to smooth the student’s transition into the work life? I argue the answer to these questions is ‘simple’. The world of work has changed so fast in the past 2 decades, and the higher education system simply did not catch up. We have 20th century higher education systems, institutions, and faculty, trying to prepare students for a 21st century world of work.”

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21st Century Work: Career-Readiness Isn’t What It Used To Be [INFOGRAPHIC]

Thinking of jobs, careers, and pay is–by some–being replaced with the idea of work, relationships, and meaning. Technology and the resulting connectivity are a part of this. In the 21st century, we all have personal “brands”–digital footprints that precede and proceed us, leaving a record of our interactions and ideas for anyone to see. The concept of career-readiness is changing because how we live and work is changing. Traditionally, this conversation is reduced to a “characteristics of” dialogue, where we promote ideas like collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. The more precise we can be as educators in our views of what work is actually becoming, the better we can prepare students for that always-changing reality.