Creative Intelligence

In marketing, we tend to think that only “creatives” are creative. After all, they’re the ones editing videos, writing headlines, and designing websites. But it’s long past time to widen our definition of creativity.

Standard definitions and measurements of intelligence (like IQs and SATs) are also becoming obsolete. That’s because human intelligence isn’t just about what you know or how good your reasoning skills are.

Human intelligence and creativity are so much more than their old-school definitions. Every sales professional has been a life coach once or twice. Every marketer has been an entertainer.

Other forms of intelligence—especially creative intelligence—are growing in importance as manual work goes down and the need for empathy and understanding spike up.

A Practical Definition of Creative Intelligence

Creative intelligence is the sum of five unique types of intelligence (emotional, intellectual, cultural, social, and power), and it offers a deeper and more accurate understanding of human intelligence.

1) Emotional quotient – Having emotional intelligence allows you to cater content and conversations to your audience, and to focus on their needs—not yours. It allows you to move slowly and gently with some leads, and to match the hyped-up, raring-for-results energy of others.

2️) Intelligence quotient – Intellectual intelligence matters. But it’s important to remember that there are different types of intelligence. Some people are very analytical, others are more organized, while others can recall complex information and answer questions quickly.

3️) Cultural quotient – Cultural intelligence refers to our ability to recognize and appropriately respond to cultural diversity. It has these different dimensions: metacognitive (our awareness of the effects of cultural differences), cognitive (our ability to make plans and solve potential problems), motivational (our willingness and curiosity), and behavioral (how we act upon these realizations).

“One of the most frequent mistakes of our thinking and acting is non-recognition of diversity, assuming a tendency to judge behaviors and situations through our own perspective, considering it to be universally shared.” – Caterina Gozzoli and Diletta Gazzaroli, Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

4️) Social quotient – Think of someone who you would call a “people person,” someone who has excellent social skills. This person has a high social intelligence. They can pick up on social cues and adapt to them instantly. Social intelligence is more than that though—it’s about deeply knowing both yourself and others.

5️) Power quotient – Your power quotient is your amount of power intelligence. What on earth is power intelligence? It’s your ability to ethically use all of your available power—your position and experience—to lead and persuade others. Today, we’re rightfully seeing a call for leaders to use their power intelligence fairly, and for everyone (even those who aren’t leaders or executives) to examine how their various types of privilege have contributed to their power quotient. When used right, power intelligence can uplift others.

Here’s the deal: You have creative intelligence. So does your team. It’s time to start owning it, using it, and growing it.

Your unique level of creative intelligence is important and can help your organization with these challenges and more:

• Empathizing and connecting with customers better than competitors

• Offering solutions to marginalized groups on their terms and in their spaces, while greatly improving representation

• Better engaging, valuing, and retaining employees

• Coming up with new solutions to customer problems