To give away the punch line up front, this all turns on how we choose to define ‘The Smartest Person’. And while raw IQ definitely has its place, success in any endeavor often turns on how effective you are at bringing the available resources to bear on the issue at hand.  Unrewarded genius is proverbial.

I would argue that the ‘smartest’ person in any room is the person who can best recognize, organize, harness, and direct the various backgrounds, talents, and skill sets of the others in the room. That person is generally the person with the highest Emotional Intelligence (EQ) i.e. the greatest blend of:

  • Self-Awareness/Knowledge: introspection: conscious of own thoughts, feelings, their interplay, our triggers, how our beliefs and world view impact our perceptions
  • Self-Control/Discipline/Mastery/Self-Regulation and motivation (purpose); ability to manage and direct our emotions in a healthy way
  • Social Awareness/Empathy: ability to understand the emotions of others, to ‘read the room’, respond appropriately
  • Social Skills: build trust, manage group conflict, influence, persuade, negotiate, inspire, create and nurture healthy relationships

The wonderful thing is that, unlike IQ, which is largely fixed at birth, EQ is very much a learnable skill. Congratulations, the quality of your future is in your hands.

Closing Quotes:

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” – William James, 1842-1910

“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.” – Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, How to Win Friends & Influence People

“75% of careers are derailed for reasons related to emotional competencies, including inability to handle interpersonal problems; unsatisfactory team leadership during times of difficulty or conflict; or inability to adapt to change or elicit trust.” – Center for Creative Leadership

As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier

Note: Every effort has been made to properly source any 3rd person material. I am, however, a voracious reader. If anyone finds any unattributed material, pls let me know asap and I will be delighted to give credit where credit is due.
“All intelligent thoughts have already been thought; what is necessary is only to try to think them again.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832