Adversity Quotient

INTELLIGENCE Quotient (IQ), measurement of raw intelligence, and Emotional Quotient (EQ), measurement of emotional intelligence, to judge the success of individuals are passe now. Today the new predictor of success is Adversity Quotient (AQ). The present day high-velocity economy with its increasing uncertainty and complexity of jobs, requires employees who can thrive in the face of adversity.

While adversity can take any form and magnitude, from major tragedies to minor annoyances, adversity quotient is a measure of how an individual perceives and deals with challenges. Individuals with high AQ levels take greater responsibility to fix problems and do not blame others for their setbacks. They feel that the problems they face are limited in scope and can be dealt with quickly and effectively. Those who can't handle adversity can become easily overwhelmed and emotional, then pull back and stop trying.

Paul Stoltz, the architect of AQ theory and president and CEO of Peak Learning, a consultancy based in California, with clients such as Hewlett-Packard, Lucent Technologies and BellSouth, has worked with about 100 companies and studied and measured the AQ levels of more than 100, 000 people. According to Stoltz, the number of adversities an individual faces during a day on an average has increased from 7 to 23 in the past ten years. Research by Scripps Institute at the University of California, San Diego, revealed that, one of the tendencies we all share is that we are far more compelled by adversity than by good news and hence it becomes more important to understand an individual's AQ levels.

Individuals with low-AQ levels can be trained to improve their ability to respond to adversity. An AQ test with about 40 questions based on how an individual would react to different situations has scores ranging from 200 to 40, followed by intensive training sessions. Stoltzs' AQ test for his clients also includes web-based instructions following the training session for the next 90 days to reinforce the learning.

According to the AQ theory of Stoltz, employees in any organisation are of three kinds - climbers, campers and quitters.

Climbers

Climbers are employees who seek challenges and have high AQ levels. Entrepreneurs and sales people who work on commission basis are among the `climbers'. The organisations that are adventure-centric also fall into this category. Microsoft has been quoted as one such `climbing organisation'. ``Climbers have an utter refusal to be insignificant. What they do and who they are, has to matter to them,'' is Stoltz's opinion.

Campers

Campers constitute about 80% of the typical workforce in any organisation. These people resist giving up their comforts, no matter what the price.

Quitters

Quitters are those who are risk-averse and flee from challenges. They are usually inclined towards education and take up teaching and mentoring.

Campers and quitters are tension creators and often frustrate climbers. They are the cause for organisations losing climbers - their key talent.

Organisations are increasingly adopting the AQ concept to capitalise on its benefits. Understanding an individual's AQ can not only help organisations to hire and retain highly motivated and talented employees, but also help in developing employees to their full potential, and create a leadership culture. This can in turn help in encouraging employees to put forth their best efforts and maximise their performance capabilities leading to overall better organisational performance.

AQ training has been successful in improving the average AQ level of the companies by 23%. One can expect anything between 5% and 15% improvement just by raising people's awareness of their own AQ. At Florida Water Services in US, about 250 managers and key employees - half of their workforce, who underwent the AQ training got stunning results in converting the campers into climbers.

John Cirello, president of Florida Water Services, says, ``When we started, we had a lot of campers, probably 70%, and 20% were quitters. We transformed that. The majority of our people are climbers now. By just giving the individuals another way to look at a problem so that they don't internalise it and lament over it, we turned the company around from losing money to making money. Now we are growing faster than we ever had before.''

Stoltz, who believes that changing behaviour is not as difficult as normal belief is, says, ``If we welcome adversity rather than shrink from it, we raise our AQ - and set in motion a virtuous cycle. High AQ translates into resilience, hardiness, and good health.''

While awareness of an individual's AQ levels can help organisations to hire and retain the best, individuals can benefit by understanding their drawbacks and turning them into opportunities.

M. SUREKHA

surekha.hyd@careercommunity.co.in