Social Harmony: The Key to High Group IQ

I realize I've been posting a great deal about the work of Daniel Goleman lately, but what can I say, it's just so good! On his blog, Goleman writes of two recent studies which indicated that in group problem solving scenarios, it is the overall emotional intelligence of the group, which includes skills such as cooperation and teamwork, rather than the individual cognitive abilities of the group members, that is the greatest predictor of the ability of the group to solve the problem. Goleman describes the results of the studies, which involved groups trying to problem solve in simulated desperate survival scenarios:

The champion teams, both studies found, were highest in group emotional intelligence. Intriguingly, when individuals were given the same challenge, their cognitive ability (as measured by SAT scores – these were college students) was the best predictor of survival. But once people were put in a team situation, individual cognitive ability made virtually no difference – instead emotional intelligence made the difference.

This makes sense in terms of earlier findings on “group IQ,” the ability of teams to perform well. Research with high-IQ team members found, for instance, that if they did not have the skills of cooperation, negotiation and teamwork, they perform poorly (in part because individual members competed to show who was smarter). As I wrote in Emotional Intelligence (p.160), “The key to a high group IQ is social harmony. This ability, all other things being equal, will make one group especially productive and successful.”

The concept of "social harmony" being the key to a high group IQ, and, in turn, to the ability of a group to perform well and solve difficult problems, is an intriguing one. It offers a powerful counterbalance to an approach that would place a premium solely on individual achievement and competition, and illustrates the beneficial effects of collaboration and teamwork. Perhaps as a more trivial example, I can think of many instances in the world of sports in which the team with fewer "stars" but greater cohesion and harmony triumphs over a talent-laden team that doesn't play well together!

These findings find a strong parallel in the teachings of the Baha'i Faith. 'Abdu'l-Baha describes the preconditions necessary to effective group decision-making in the following glorious terms:

The first condition is absolute love and harmony amongst the members of the assembly. They must be wholly free from estrangement and must manifest in themselves the Unity of God, for they are the waves of one sea, the drops of one river, the stars of one heaven, the rays of one sun, the trees of one orchard, the flowers of one garden. Should harmony of thought and absolute unity be nonexistent, that gathering shall be dispersed and that assembly be brought to naught.

It is interesting to consider what the implications of these scientific and spiritual teachings might be for social groups, whether it be in the family, workplace, religious community, or the political realm. It also instructive to consider how the consciousness of the importance of this critical contributor to the success of any group endeavor might be cultivated and increased. One key area seems like it would be the spiritual and moral education of children--along with the reading, writing, and arithmetics that children learn in school, developing skills in collaboration, consultation, and unified group work will certainly stand them (and the world) in good stead throughout their lives!