Do You Know Where Your DQ Is?

So…how’s YOUR DQ? With summer just around the corner I’m guessing your mind may have wandered to thinking about your local Dairy Queen…but no…I’m referring to your Digital Quotient or DQ.

For many years it was a widely held belief that to be a great leader one must be intelligent as measured by his or her IQ. It was believed that people with the highest IQ’s were destined to be great leaders with extraordinary accomplishments and achievement throughout their careers.

Then Daniel Jay Coleman’s work showed that along with intelligent attributes great leaders also showed a high degree of Emotional Intelligence or EQ. Such qualities included self-awareness, inspiration, empathy, social and relationship management skills.

Enter the digital age with its mobility, social networks, data warehouses, cloud capabilities, 24/7 accessibility, and it’s ever changing digital environment, today’s leader must now develop and hone his or her Digital Quotient or DQ as well.

In a recent article published on CEO.com, author Prashant Ranade offers 6 components and attributes of DQ.

1.     Managing the Unknowable – Simply said, there’s simply too much information for any one person to “know it all”. Today’s leaders must acknowledge their limits and build reliable networks to help navigate through the mountains of information and data.

2.     Entrepreneurship -  Great leaders aren’t necessarily great entrepreneurs, but the ability to take calculated risks is critical to move forward. Identifying and understanding trends to be able to scale up or cut losses in a timely manner are crucial.

3.     Mind Map – New terminology in the DQ world, as this simply translates to vision. The ability to visualize the BIG picture, understand the end game and setting boundaries are all part of the leader’s “mind map”.

4.     Discern at Speed – Speed is the most distinguishing characteristic of the digital age according to the author. No matter how fast you’re moving…you’re not moving fast enough to keep pace. As a result, leaders must have clarity of purpose, thought, and action to align the organization to achieve common goals.

5.     Succeeding in the Customer Age – It was once held that customers could ever choose two of the following parameters: speed, quality, or cost.  In today’s world the customer EXPECTS all three and leaders must transform their mindset, along with the organization’s to meet and exceed those expectations.

6.     Inspiring Technology – Today’s technology offers infinite possibilities stifled only by one’s limited imagination. Digital age leaders must harness this power of creativity to benefit their organization.

Technology is here to stay and unless we adapt to it and embrace its potential we will be on the outside looking in…