TECHNOLOGY QUOTIENT (TQ): Assessing Digital & Technological Competence
Technology is everywhere nowadays, especially at work. Some people are really good at using all the cool new tools that keep popping up. They have something called a TQ, or Technology Quotient. Think of it like a superpower for understanding the latest tech stuff that our great-grandparents would have found really weird. Having a high TQ means you’re awesome at using all the cool new things that not everyone knows about yet!
So, a Technology Quotient is kind of like how people talk about Intelligence Quotient or IQ, but it’s all about how good someone is at using technology. Your Technology Quotient, or TQ for short, helps show how well you can use digital stuff. And in our world, today, where technology is really important, having a high TQ can be really helpful!
What is the reasoning behind using the term “Technology Quotient”?
The idea of IQ, or Intelligence Quotient, is a little complicated and some people have had different opinions about it in the past. Some people think it’s good to measure intelligence, while others don’t agree. But one thing we know is that using IQ to measure how smart someone is can sometimes cause problems. It’s like trying to put people into boxes based on just one number, which isn’t always fair or accurate.
Intelligence Quotient, also known as IQ, is been around for a long time and is considered a pretty important thing by some people. Basically, it’s a way to measure how smart someone is and a lot of people think that’s pretty cool.
Exploring Intelligence Quotient as a Conceptual Framework
An IQ can be thought of as a tool to help us understand a bunch of important traits that go together. It’s like using one number to describe a whole bunch of different things!
In the 1990s, people got really excited about the idea that being good at understanding and managing emotions could make you more successful. They called this idea “Emotional Intelligence,” or EQ for short.
After that, lots of other people started coming up with new ideas for different types of intelligence. For example, some people said that being good at understanding other people’s feelings is really important too, and they called this “Social Intelligence” or SQ.
Other people said that being able to stay calm and focused during tough times is a special skill, and they called it “Adversity Quotient” or AQ. Some people even said that being spiritual or physically fit could make you smarter, and they came up with “Spiritual Intelligence” or “Physical Intelligence” or SQ and PQ for short.
So now we have lots of different “quotients” that people think are important for success. It’s kind of like having different superpowers!
The Inevitability of Technology Quotient
Technology is everywhere in our lives and it’s becoming more important every day. How well we use technology can even affect our jobs as a differentiating factor in recruitment and promotion! That’s why people came up with the idea of a “Technology Quotient” to measure how good someone is at using technology. It’s kinda like having a grade for using tech. Looking back, it seems like a no-brainer that someone would come up with this idea!
There was a webpage from a long time ago, in 2007, that talked about something called Technology Quotient, or TQ for short. It was a way to measure how good you are with technology! There was a website made by PayPal where people could test their TQ, but sadly, it’s not around anymore. But it’s cool to know that people were thinking about how to measure TQ a long time ago!
Tracing the Origin of TQ
I traced the origin of this term and its use through Google’s ngram tool. But, The term ‘technology quotient’ doesn’t appear in any sets of data and TQ really has so many meanings. It was widely used in the early 19th century and again rises through the 1970s, but it was referred to as Total Quality which is termed as TQM.
The first evidential use case I got is in a Psychology Today article, by John Nosta.
What is Technology Quotient?
John Nosta defines Technology Quotient as:
A technology quotient representing a person’s ability to adapt to and integrate technology as compared to the statistical norm or average for their age, taken as 100.
Alternative Definition of Technology Quotient
But there is another definition that I like better. John Burton wrote an article about ‘TQ and the Digital Skills Gap’, published by a technology management company, NPI. It was written a few months after the first one.
…our ability to assimilate or adapt to technology changes by developing and employing strategies to successfully include technology in our work and life. A high TQ includes the right attitude, capabilities and decision- making strategies to fully leverage technology. A person with a high TQ:
– organises work to take full advantage of available technology
– reaps a payback from taking technology risks
– takes advantage of the opportunities technology presentsTechnology Quotient (TQ) and the Digital Skills Gap, John Burton
Other Variation on TQ: Digital Quotient (DQ)
I am simply amazed by the quality of research and analysis that are published by the consulting firm McKinsey. I would suggest all the readers take a look at their Featured Insights from time to time.
Mckinsey carried out research into practices related to digital strategy, capabilities, and culture. In 2015, The resulting report was published as ‘Raising Your Digital Quotient’, which is wide-ranging, subtle, and thoughtful.
McKinsey mostly publishes for big companies and the important people who work there, like the CEOs and other high-ups (we call them the “C-Suite”). The goal of McKinsey’s Digital Quotient initiative is to help these companies make sure that everyone who works there knows about technology and how it fits into the company’s plans. It’s not just about using gadgets, but also about how the company thinks about technology and how it affects everything they do.
Here is how McKinsey defines their own term:
Digital Quotient® (DQ) measures an organization’s performance across four key dimensions of digital maturity. Executives use the results to compare their performance against hundreds of organizations and digital leaders, identify their digital strengths and weaknesses across business units, and prioritize the initiatives of greatest potential impact.
The four key dimensions which McKinsey is referring to here, are:
- Strategy — Alignment around a vision, with goals relating to digital-business aspirations
- Culture — Mindsets and behaviors attuned to digital opportunities
- Organisation — The structures, processes, and talent needed to address your digital strategy
- Capabilities — The systems, tools, skills, and technology to achieve your digital goals
Technology Quotient as A Future Recruitment Criterion
Back in 1996, John Perry Barlow came up with a phrase called ‘Digital Native’. This phrase is used to describe people who grew up in a world where technology is everywhere. You might be a Digital Native if you can’t imagine life without smartphones, tablets, and the internet! On the other hand, ‘Digital Immigrants’ are people who started using technology as adults. They had to learn all about it when it wasn’t already a part of their lives.
In the 1950s, companies were looking for really smart people to work for them. They wanted people who had something called ‘high-IQ’, which means they were really intelligent. The bosses thought that hiring people who were super smart would help their company be better and more successful.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, people started to think that something called ‘EQ’ was really important for being a good manager or professional. EQ stands for ‘Emotional Quotient’, which means being good at understanding your own feelings and other people’s feelings too. And even today, people still think that having a high EQ is really important!
I think that maybe, someday soon, people might start to test something called ‘Technology Quotient’ or TQ. This means they might give you a test to see how good you are with technology! Will today’s young people find themselves taking TQ tests as part of their recruitment process? I would not rule it out.
