Observational skills? What do you think about someone who is a very observant person? Someone who notices details that others miss. Or perhaps someone that pays attention to trends that others ignore. You probably think of this as a skill rather than an intelligence, for that is what we have been conditioned to believe. We probably think of this as a valuable skill to have for say a detective, but perhaps we wouldn’t consider it all that important in our daily lives for the average person.
However, I think of observation abilities as a form of intelligence, falling under the heading of what Gardner called the “personal intelligences.” However, I don’t feel that Gardner gave observational intelligence its just due. While it is true that it is an important type of intelligence for someone such as a detective or counselor, observational intelligence can serve everyone in their daily lives. Observational intelligence can lead to good problem solving – for example, noticing things that others don’t notice. That of course can be helpful in nearly any position.
And we shouldn’t fail to realize just how key observational intelligence plays a role in the greater domain of personal intelligence. The ability to “read people” and to understand their motivations can be an extremely valuable type of intelligence in a workplace setting and personal relationships. While it is true that it is an invaluable “skill” for a psychologist or counselor to have, rarely has it been talked about as a sought after type of intelligence for anyone to have in order to succeed in their career and in their personal relationships.
A workplace example: one afternoon I was setting up a training webinar on the 4th floor of the office building where I’ve worked now for 3+ years. I regularly work on the 5th floor, but at some time or another find myself on all 5 floors for various work-related activities. I was only minutes away from beginning my training class, many attendees had already began to come into the training room when an employee from the 4th floor burst into the training room. “Can I help you?” I asked as he stood in front of me. “I just didn’t know what you were doing in here, and thought you might have been one of the new guys from our section. I didn’t recognize you.” I replied, “I’ve worked here for over 3 years and you never recognized me before?” He said “No!” firmly. I laughed, and he walked out of the room.
Okay, a couple interesting points about this: One, I had seen this fellow numerous times not only on the 4th floor hallways and bathrooms, but also on the 5th floor where I work in the break room getting coffee. We had never spoken before, but had nodded heads to acknowledge each other a few times. Plus, I’m a rather large guy, about 6′ 2″ and 210lbs so not so easily overlooked. The only conclusion I could come to is that this was a good example of someone who is what I would say has low observational intelligence.
