Earlier, maybe two or even three decades ago, IQ or Intelligence Quotient gained a lot of importance. There were small agencies that had mushroomed all across the country that would help test a child’s IQ. Parents would endeavour to have their children’s IQ tested so that they would be able to identify the appropriate stream of study and career for them.
Then came the phase of emotional quotient. People wanted to know specifically about an individual’s emotional suitability for a particular role. This was especially pertinent to recruitment, as many psychological tests were conducted by employees to find out an individual’s emotional quotient and mental health status. This gained a lot of importance and still has importance today.
However, the need of the hour is RQ—Resilience Quotient. In times of crisis or in situations that do not go according to your plans, do you have the resilience or capacity to accept a no or bounce back and continue to do your work?
To quote a recent example, I had planned to go on a vacation with my medico friends whom I have known for the past forty years. We had planned a vacation after 15 years when we all turned 60, and all our bookings had been made to the tune that our bags had been packed. Though initially, we had planned for 10 days, given all our busy schedules, we had to bring it down to only 5 days. But there was a sudden professional crisis at my end, and to attend to it, I had to take a rain check on the vacation. In hindsight, I realize that it was my commitment to my work or the fact that I am a doctor, and as a medico, we develop this quality much better and faster than others. Therefore, I could absorb the setback of not going with my friends on a much-awaited holiday that I could have enjoyed, but instead was resolving a work crisis.
The younger generation should also develop this resilience so that if there is a crisis or there is a no from your partner, your parents, colleagues or teachers, you need to tide over that and bounce back and continue doing the work that you are doing. That is most important in today’s world; the capacity to be resilient is most important, especially in a world where there is so much uncertainty, where jobs are lost, and partners become estranged. The ways and methods to develop this RQ are most relevant at present. In fact, RQ takes precedence over IQ and EQ.