Complexity Intelligence and Cultural Coaching: Navigating the Gap Between Our Societal Challenges and Our Capacities

Abstract

In this article, we present the term complexity intelligence as a useful moniker to describe the reasoning ability, emotional capacity and social cognition necessary to meet the challenges of our prevailing life conditions. We suggest that, as a society and as individuals, we develop complexity intelligence as we navigate the gap between our current capacities and the capacities needed to respond to the next stage of complex challenges in our lives. We further suggest that it is possible to stimulate and support the emergence of complexity intelligence in a society, but we need a new form of social change agent – a cultural coach, to midwife its emergence.

Keywords

• complexity
• social change
• reasoning ability
• emotional capacity
• social cognition
• adult development
• cultural coach
• Jan Inglis
• Margaret Steele