The key to group intelligence may have less to do with brains more to do

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A reader's contribution

 

The key to group intelligence may have less to do with brains more to do
with women's social skills

 

Ingrid Peritz; Adrian Morrow
Globe and Mail, Oct. 1, 2010 

 

MONTREAL and TORONTO - It is a lesson for everyone from corporate Canada to
community halls: The key to "smart" groups may have less to do with brains
and more to do with social sensitivity - a trait typically found in women.

 

Researchers in the U.S. have found that putting individual geniuses together
into a team doesn't add up to one intelligent whole. Instead, they found,
group intelligence is linked to social skills, taking turns, and the
proportion of women in the group.

 

"The individual intelligence of members is not a very strong predictor of
collective intelligence," said lead researcher Anita Woolley, of Carnegie
Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

 

Researchers divided 700 people into groups of two to five, and set out to
measure their ability to perform tasks such as brainstorming, solving
puzzles and making moral judgments. The goal was to assess collective
intelligence, dubbed the "c factor."

 

They found that groups that worked well were ones where members interacted
and participated equally. They tended to include more women.

 

"We didn't expect that the proportion of women would be a significant
influence, but we found that it was," Prof. Woolley, an organizational
psychologist, said in an interview. "The effect was linear, meaning the more
women, the better."

 

Their social skills might mean picking up non-verbal cues on their faces and
deducing what others are feeling, then drawing them out, Prof. Woolley said.

 

Men can have so-called social sensitivity too, Prof. Woolley said. But if
you're a decision-maker and don't know anything about people before putting
a team together, "then a better bet is to incorporate more women."

 

The findings could be relevant to everything from scientific collaboration
to corporate offices and the high-stakes field of military planning.

 

"Could a short collective intelligence test predict a sales team's or a top
management team's long-term effectiveness?" the study asks.

 

Researchers found that groups where a few people dominated the conversation
were less "collectively intelligent" than those where everyone shared
equally. The silent type in the corner may be the smartest person in the
room. And the loudmouth who dominates the conversation may not be helping at
all.

 

The study's findings rang true for Canadians accustomed to working in
groups.

 

At Vancouver advertising agency Wasserman and Partners, about two-thirds of
the employees are women, and it's no accident. Women are more successful as
account coordinators - jobs that involve keeping clients happy and getting
work from the firm's creative types on time - and consequently get promoted
to higher levels in the organization, said company president Alvin
Wasserman.

 

"You need really solid communication skills and you need really good people
skills and we've found women are better there than men," Mr. Wasserman said.
On the creative side, he said, women and men perform equally well.

 

Social sensitivity helps Toronto indie band Ohbijou navigate the stresses of
recording and touring together. Being able to read when a band mate is ready
to quit for the night or when a songwriting session is going nowhere helps
keep harmony in the group, says lead singer Casey Mecija.

 

"From where to stop and where to eat and where to stay and what time to meet
up for sound check, it takes negotiation."

 

The group, comprised of four women and two men, also recently revamped its
songwriting process to incorporate all band members' input. One member will
come with a melody or chords, another will add a bridge and the others will
layer on different elements until the band has a complete song.

 

"We've been able to decipher peoples' personalities - when we need to back
off or when we need to push someone to get their best," said Ms. Mecija, who
recently returned from a stint with her band writing at a cottage in rural
Ontario.

 

The study is published in the Sept. 30 issue of the journal Science.

 

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