The Most Crucial Thinking Skill Isn’t About Thinking At All

It’s about EQ (Emotional Intelligence), not IQ. In the AI Era, you could be the most brilliant thinker, mastering the latest NextGen of AI, producing amazing stuff, and still totally bomb when it comes to getting things done with others. Feelings and emotions matter... A lot!

Critical thinking in the AI Era is acting with an understanding that during times of change and challenges, many of us think with our emotions, not our heads. No matter how strategically perfect and AI-brilliant your content is — every time you go to implement your ideas and work with others, your back’n’forths may be driven by feelings. As they should be. Feelings are an important part of what makes us human.

?…And these can be very scary times for people. So many of our skills — for some of us, up to 80% — are landing in the Zone of Irrelevance, and we have to rapidly upskill and learn so many new skills.

?…And you need to understand and account for the fact that holistic wellbeing matters to the workforce of tomorrow. Not just physical wellbeing — but also emotional, spiritual, purpose fulfillment, passions, lowered stress, lowered overload, and so much more, are all part of wellbeing.

…And we need leaders who model how to BE, not just managing everything for more Do, Do, Do, and MoreBetterFaster, MoreBetterFaster.

…Leaders who create much more trust… in them, in our strategies and systems, and in our organizations, to be there for us, so we can be there for others.

…And managers who make us feel safe to take risks.

…Leaders and managers and organizational cultures that make it safe for us to question the unquestionable premises pre-baked into our strategies, systems, structures, tools, and ways of working.

…Because during the AI Era, we’ve been given a tool that’s said to be more profound than the discovery of both fire and electricity , and we have to stop using this technology to optimize human beings for the market, and start optimizing AI for us to be more human, more joyously ourselves.

Next Steps

Make sure your EQ people skills are as deep and well-honed, and well-used as your thinking skills.

(Lots more about EQ in the last three skills for the AI Era: Personal Agility, Empathy, and Courage.)

Bill Jensen is a seasoned strategy and transformation executive, advisor to C-suite execs, globally-known keynote speaker, and author of nine best-selling leadership and change books, including Simplicity, Disrupt, Future Strong, and The Day Tomorrow Said No. Reach him at [email protected] .