<em>Living Wisdom School kindergarten teacher Suryani Nelson helps a student with his End of Year “Qualities” speech.</em>
When Sergey Brin and Larry Page founded Google in 1998, they set a policy of hiring only the most brilliant applicants in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). Fifteen years later, when Google examined the results of this policy, they were quite surprised: the top seven qualities that augured success at Google were all “soft” skills. The researchers found that the most successful Google employees:
- Are good coaches
- Empower the team and do not micromanage
- Express interest in and concern for the other team members’ success and personal well-being
- Are productive and results-oriented
- Are good communicators—they listen and share information
- Help others with their career development
- Have a clear vision and strategy for the team
- Have key technical skills that help them advise the team
Fifty-three years ago, in 1971, Swami Kriyananda asked Nitai Deranja to start a school at Ananda Village. The school would train its students for excellence in academics, but there would be a simultaneous, deliberate and pervasive emphasis on understanding each child’s unique strengths and learning styles.
This approach succeeded beyond the founders’ wildest expectations. It turned out that challenging the children at the level of their ability, instead of herding them through a rigid lockstep curriculum, gave them success experiences every day of the school year, with the result that the students became deeply engaged and enthusiastic, and discipline problems virtually disappeared.
The system, now called Education for Life, starts in kindergarten, where the teacher – Suryani Nelson in our local school – spends the first months of the year giving the students tools that will serve them throughout their lives. They are, in fact, closely aligned with the top seven success factors in Google’s findings.
A later Google study examined the factors that set the company’s best research teams apart. Again, Google identified qualities that the young scholars are taught in kindergarten in the Living Wisdom Schools:
“Equality, generosity, curiosity toward the ideas of your teammates, empathy, and emotional intelligence. And topping the list: emotional safety. No bullying. To succeed, each and every team member must feel confident speaking up and making mistakes. They must know they are being heard.” (From a report on the study in the Washington Post.) To learn more about Living Wisdom School, visit www.livingwisdomschool.org.
The lessons for creatives are obvious. If, for example, you want to start a career as a documentary cinematographer, an assistant on a film set, a graphic designer, fine artist, musician, or writer, it would be a good idea to learn how to treat your clients well. It might even help the quality of your work.