Being Smarter is NOT the Answer
Ken Carlson
Experienced Executive Coach and Leadership Trainer with a knack for working with Geeks; Specializing in Engineering, Science, Math, and Medical.
We've rebranded as PricklyPear ! In early 2023, we began sharing weekly content (see below) with a focus on neurodivergent leaders and we truly hope it has made a difference for you. Recently, we introduced you to a new company that I (Ken) and Petra Russell, PCC, CPC, ELI-MP have launched to specifically serve neurodivergent leaders.
As Executive Coaches and Leadership Trainers we've had the opportunity to work with hundreds of neurodivergent leaders and coach them through many leadership and workplace challenges. Each week we will continue to share resources and insights for neurodivergent leaders and the rest of us.
This week we discuss why being smarter is not the answer to our problems. ______________________________________________________________
Being Smarter is NOT the Answer
I used to be smart. Really smart. My life depended on it. My inner life anyway. I competed with my classmates in Physics and Calculus to get the highest score each exam. As a young leader in business, I needed to have the best idea, the best team, the most innovative take on the idea. And I often thought I did.
I had learned as an adolescent that if I knew the right answer, I would garner praise from all the important people in my life. I was told that if I worked hard and got good grades, I would get a good job. I was told I would get promoted if I got the advanced degree or if I knew how to do all the right things better than anyone else.
Our entire university education system is set up to honor this very way of thinking. It’s the smartest, most accomplished individuals who get the primo jobs out of college. It’s the most published professor who gets tenure or gets the most sought after university jobs.
Imagine my frustration when I discovered that the path to being a better dad wasn't found in a book. Imagine my despair when I discovered that being smart actually seemed to make it harder for me to create love in my life. I submit that this is a moment that comes for most of us in our lives. The strategy we have used to make sense of our lives has stopped working. Some people call this a mid-life crisis, some call it a breakdown, others call it an awakening. I like the word awakening--but it definitely doesn't feel like that. I had never felt more lost in my life.
We’ve mixed up causation with correlation. Smart often means successful. But sometimes it is the biggest detriment to success. Take the example of a professor.?
The best, most amazing instructor is often not the smartest, most intelligent instructor. The best instructors create learning and it takes talent but they certainly don’t need to have the deepest understanding.
We need to break this habit. It starts with asking the question—what do I want to create instead of what do I know?
I stopped being smart when I realized it stopped serving me. Being smarter didn’t make me a better dad. It didn’t make me a better significant other and it certainly didn’t create more love in my life. Being smarter didn’t even make me a better coach or a better leader.
The same is true for all areas of life. I’m a coach and I’ve been doing this now for 16 years. It’s amazing how pervasive this idea is in our world. Everyone’s first question for me is—what advice to you have for me. Or for my spouse. :)
None.
What do you want to create? Let’s create that? It’s much tougher than knowledge. What’s stopping you from creating it now? Is it knowledge? Probably not. We usually know everything that there is to know about a topic that matters to us—we just don’t create it.
You want to create learning? Knowledge is just a start.
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Past Articles: Neurodiverse Leadership Resource Library
Want more resources on neurodiversity leadership? We are finding and creating resources for you. Watch this section expand every week.
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