The future of education requires an exponential mindset.

Jeanette Cheah, CEO & Founder of HEX

If there’s one thing that’s constant in the world of education, it’s change. The past few years of rapid transitions to remote learning have proven that educators, parents, and learners are capable of adapting to immense change when compelled to do so.

The challenge now is collectively redefining our new normal. Many people want to ‘get back to the way it was’. Others thrived in a remote world, and are keen to see that continue. And for many of us, the reality will be somewhere in the middle. Students today are preparing to enter a fascinating, constantly changing, hybrid, global workforce. And as educators, it’s our job to stay three steps ahead of where they need to be.

But how can we stay ahead of the curve when so many of the educators I speak to daily are already stretched thin? Is it realistic to expect educators to stay on top of new technologies, emerging business models, each new coding language, as well as the changing geo-political landscape?

I believe that there is one overarching new concept that will change the game entirely: Exponential Intelligence™, or eXQ.

Just as the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is broadly accepted as being a measure of innate intelligence, and Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is known as a proxy for how good someone is with other people, I believe that the newly developed concept of Exponential Intelligence will be a measure for how likely a person is to thrive and lead in a changing, technological world.

What is Exponential Intelligence?

Exponential Intelligence™ (eXQ) is a new education pedagogy comprising 30 mindsets, skill sets, and toolsets. The concept is that a person with a high eXQ will be the kind of person who will quickly adapt and lead in a changing world.

" Exponential Intelligence will be a measure for how likely a person is to thrive and lead in a changing, technological world "

As an example, eXQ argues that instead of assessing a student’s ability to code in a certain computing language, it’s much more important to assess that student’s mindset of curiosity about the future, their skill sets to problem solve and self-teach in a ‘just in time learning style, and the toolsets of systems thinking.

Interestingly, eXQ includes attributes like community, abundance, self-care, risk assessment, and global leadership – and is less focused on hard-coded skills. And working with entrepreneurs and leaders around the world leads me to believe that it’s the eXQ attributes that are critically important when it comes to being able to spot trends, pivot into opportunities, and think critically about the future that we can co-create.

eXQ is the difference between a startup mentality and a large corporate behemoth.It’s the difference between an entrepreneur and a 9 to 5 employee.It’s the difference between a changemaker and a bystander.

The great news is that eXQ can be measured constantly through a person’s education and career, and it can increase and grow over time with the right exposure to learning and networks.

Impacts for educators

I believe re-designing pedagogy that helps to drive great eXQ will help educate a new generation of purpose-driven leaders in business, technology, social impact, and government. 

It also removes the pressure on educators to keep up with every single change in technology – instead focusing on building the capabilities that will empower students to search for their solutions and utilize the technology of the day.

As an example, in a ChatGPT, generative-AI world, some educators have taken steps to ban this technology, whereas other, more eXQ-friendly educators have taken the position of adding ChatGPT into their classrooms. Teaching students how to navigate the ethics of this new world, how to think critically about the impacts on their careers, and how to intelligently query and work alongside generative AI technology, in my opinion, is a better spend of time than trying to ban it because we don’t understand it.

I’m excited to see more educators bringing an eXQ mindset into their work – and into their classrooms – to help raise the exponential intelligence of the future global workforce.