Intrapersonal Intelligence is listed as one of Howard Gardner’s “Multiple Intelligences”. With all the talk about “flatter” organizations, self-directed staff and learners, and connectedness amongst and across organizations, it is time to start looking at organizations as living organisms, if you haven’t started to yet! Some people already have, of course. For instance, there has been “Team Coaching” going on for some time, where functional and project teams have been coached as though they were a single entity. Not that “groupthink” reigns supreme there, by no means! Each member of a team is expected to function as a unique individual bringing all his qualities and skills to bear for the highest levels of team efficacy.

Daniel Pink’s “Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose” mantra is of course extremely good when adopted in the same spirit in which it was conceived. Knowing the nature of Man, however, we can and should expect to encounter applications of that concept that will not be in line with how Daniel Pink saw it. The main reason for this is an increase in moral turpitude and the decay in people’s resolve to stay committed to doing good for others rather than focusing on self. We need to continue leading and influencing people to consistently choose what is true, right and just.

The world of education has been moving from pedagogy to andragogy to “heutagogy”, which builds upon andragogy and expands the learning concepts thereof. To my mind, learning takes place, not in such a distinct fashion, but elements of each “gogy” are more applicable to different degrees at each stage as a child grows into an adult. It’s more fluid and more amorphous, not so clear-cut. A child would of course be better served by pedagogical principles, but that does not mean that elements of andragogy and heutagogy are not present. An adult learner is better served by andragogical methods, but that does not mean that pedagogical elements are totally absent. Each learner is unique and ought to be served according to what is best for that unique combination. With heutagogy now having been defined, “self-directed” learners and staff come to the forefront. What we ought to look out for then are people who indulge their vast self-interest under the pretext of heutagogy. This is another push towards the necessity of treating the organization as a living organism. I don’t think anything else would be practical.

So, Intraorganizational Intelligence, anyone? To be followed by Interorganizational Intelligence, of course!