Ability to learn versus intelligence, who wins the battle in the selection of a management profile?

We recently had the opportunity to read an article in Expansión & Empleo with which we fully agree (“Why knowing how to learn is worth more than being smart when looking for a job”), and which explains in large part the reasons that pushed us to design our own evaluation methodology.

Historically, selection processes have given important weight to IQ. Without doubting that it can be a predictor that provides interesting information, it has been shown that other aspects, such as the ability to learn called “learnability“, or the intrinsic motivations of the person, play an even more important role.

In selection processes, especially those aimed at evaluating and selecting key profiles in the organization, they must be oriented to evaluate, through different techniques or tools, different critical aspects that help us predict the future performance of a person in a position and in a given context.

We talk about predicting, or, in other words, trying to get as close as possible to a “scientific” conclusion, since absolute security never exists when we talk about people. But it is possible to define a structured process that helps us make the right decisions in most cases, or at least, to make decisions being aware of the existing risks.

After thoroughly evaluating those aspects that can have a direct impact on the performance of a person in a given position, company and environment, at Saltor Talent we decided to introduce the following in our evaluation process:

Cognitive capacity: These are precisely the skills by which our brain allows us to learn, retain, reason, and interpret information.  It is a group of mental processes related to information processing, and especially in ambiguous or complex environments, a person with an above-average cognitive capacity will have a greater facility to navigate them.

Intrinsic motivations: There are different intrinsic motivations that all human beings share, but some manifest themselves especially strongly in some people, and instead are not very relevant to other people. Some models speak of up to 16 intrinsic motivations that we can find in every human being. If, to a high cognitive capacity, intrinsic motivations such as curiosity are added, we are faced with a profile not only with the capacity to learn and unlearn, but with the will and motivation to do so.

Personality behaviors: Personality traits are probably one of the most difficult aspects to measure, since our personality is constantly moving and evolving. However, there are highly reliable tools to understand certain key dimensions that undoubtedly impact positively, negatively or neutrally on the performance of the functions of a specific job position. For our part,

Agilities: There are 5 key agilities that are included within the Agility learning model.  It is a complex set of skills that allows, among other things,  to extrapolate what has been learned to another place or circumstances.  That is, again, being able to learn, adapt, unlearn and relearn quickly.

In a world as changing and uncertain as the one we live in, we need leaders who learn and unlearn agilely, resilient, with emotional intelligence and developed self-knowledge. They also need emotionally secure environments that allow them to develop and impact.

Referenced article:

Article from Iñaki Saltor and Álvaro Cárcel, founding partner and partner.