Prestige or Competence?

One beauty of our Acton school is that we are one school part of a network of 300 plus schools across the world. This means that at every school there are talented Founders, Guides, and learners that our school can learn from. It is a great gift to be connected and share experience with each Acton leader from the network and it beautiful to be on a hero’s journey with fellow travelers. Today, I’d like to share wisdom from the Acton community. Here is a share about success called The Dangerous Fallacy of IQ

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Why are some people successful and others not? The secret may not surprise you at all. Scott Kaufman, the author of Ungifted,Intelligence Redefined and a former “Special Ed” student who became a Yale/Cambridge expert on intelligence, isn’t a fan of the IQ test. Yes, IQ is the single biggest driver of financial success, with a correlation coefficient of .4. But to understand its true impact, you have to square that number. So, IQ only explains 16% of success.

It turns out that resilience, grit, determination, engagement, kindness, and a whole host of other factors are more important. Deep down, we already know this.

+We know that potential, growth, and mindset matter far more than verbal fluency and processing speed.

+We know that competence—getting the job done—matters more than prestige or the ability to talk a good game.

+We know that while superstars are valuable, a team of superstars who can self-manage and self-govern, each using their unique gifts, is exponentially more powerful—and more fun.

As Kaufman puts it: “Every human has a need for competence, autonomy, relatedness, belonging, and uniqueness.” Intelligence isn’t a number on a test; it’s “the dynamic interplay of engagement and abilities in pursuit of personal goals.” In other words, it’s the Hero’s Journey.

Children with high IQs might sail through prestigious universities with straight A’s but still lack true intelligence, happiness, or fulfillment. Prestige or competence—that’s the real choice. That’s why at Acton, we champion self-management, self-governance, and the pursuit of a calling.

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At school this week learners in all studios are continuing their nest building work with Quests of Architecture and Building. Topics of strengths, superpowers, and success all seemed to swirl around the school this week. This one question about success was posed to Discovery and Adventure learners after researching architect hero Zaha Hadid. “When answering your call to adventure, how do you know if you are successful? A. You receive praise B. You win competitions C. You feel pride in your work D. Something else

How would you answer this question?

When you connect with your child are you more focused on the prestige of their reading level or their mindset to get jobs done? How are you modeling your measurement of success for yourself? Is your personal definition of success the same for your child? If you’re looking for a dinner or walking conversation I challenge you to pose these questions and look to the mindset of your child, they might surprise you!