A Brief History of Behavioral Intelligence®

Although it seems like the new kid on the block, Behavioral Intelligence®, sometimes confused with emotional intelligence, has been in development over the last 40+ years.  Because of the initial offering of the Behavioral Intelligence Development Program it seems like a good time to provide the background on how it came to be and why it’s important.

My college and early career were a time when I mixed both my interest in problem-solving and people by earning a Psychology degree from Bates College and then immersing myself in computer technology as a programmer, systems analyst and consultant to a variety of businesses.

I took the leap out of IT back in the late 70s and returned to studying and applying Psychology. Since then my career has been about the well-being, happiness and peak performance of my clients, whether as individuals or as part of a group. My clients are people such as CEOs, managers and athletes who are usually part of a group whether a family, sports or organizational team, or a team of teams such as you would have in a business or education.

In order to be an effective Psychologist, Coach and Consultant I’ve studied, learned, and applied a variety of skills that would seem to be important to well-being and happiness, my own and by extension, others. Through my  undergraduate work at Bates College, PhD studies at the University of Texas at Arlington, Fellowship at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas, studies with Dr. Herbert Benson in Boston, and innumerable courses for using assessments, goal setting, meditation, mind/body medicine, cognitive and developmental Psychology, decision making, problem-solving, my clinical and consulting practice, I have gone in whatever direction made sense to understand human complexity and to simplify this complexity to be easily available for application and change.

What I learned is Behavioral Intelligence, whether as an individual or a team, requires a number of skills applied effectively and often in sequence. Successful outcomes require more than the aha, more than creating a vision, more than meditation, more than less stress, more than communication, more than self and other awareness, more than any one skill applied on its own. Success in any endeavor requires the integration of a succession of behaviors and at times by any number of people working cooperatively toward a commonly held goal.

Success requires “doing what’s right to get the right things done™” In the same way that the mechanical parts of an automobile are necessary to create the automobile, it is not until they are assembled in a certain manner, that the automobile can actually take you on your journey. Success in human endeavors is similar and is a result of the synergy of separate skills with the outcome (demonstrated as measurable behavior) more than a sum of its parts. Success in human endeavors requires what I have named Behavioral Intelligence®.

How did Behavioral Intelligence come about? My personal aha occurred a number of years ago when as an adjunct Professor, I was teaching emotional intelligence as part of a leadership course. While reviewing emotional intelligence writings I realized that EI is important but not sufficient for success. Although numerous studies show correlation between success in the workplace and scores on EI assessments, correlation does not mean causation. Also, EI is focused on the people side of getting things done. Behavioral Intelligence requires people skills, and in addition takes into account the skills for getting the job done, whether at home, at school, in sports or at work.

I have learned that my levels of emotional intelligence get me through numerous situations at work, with family and on the golf course but they are not enough for success. For example my EI skills can only help me maximize the golf skills that I have, but do nothing for changing my swing or how I read the greens. I take golf lessons and practice what I’ve learned in order to improve the elements of the game and put those together with my EI skills to maximize performance and play closer to my present potential.

Another simple and obvious example is, my emotional intelligence helps me get along with people I work with, but I will not be successful as an accountant because I don’t know accounting basics or Excel and I can just about balance my checkbook.

For success in golf and accounting, my EI helps, but is not sufficient for getting the job done. EI can help me maximize the effectiveness of the skills I have, but does nothing for making those skills better. Getting better at what I do requires Behavioral Intelligence.

Those years ago, when reviewing the EI materials, I realized I had been practicing Behavioral Intelligence for some time only without the formal name. Subsequently I focused on the external manifestation of what goes on in our brain and our bodies (behavior) and how to improve Behavioral Intelligence. During the 90s I had published two books, the Meditation and Relaxation Companion and The Coaching Guide for Better Parents and Stronger Kids, which had the necessary elements for Behavioral Intelligence but had not been organized or named. Those elements or skills are now organized as the 5 Step STARR Process™, the acronym for Stop, Think, Assess, Respond, Review.

STARR is a simple acronym to remember and often not so easy to execute as planned. The skills associated with STARR are grounded in research but are practically written and organized in an orderly manner so one step leads to the next. Research from the last decade, especially in the fields of decision-making and behavioral economics, are now incorporated into Behavioral Intelligence. The 5 step STARR Process has remained the same but takes into account the new research regarding internal and external experiences as we consider “Doing What’s Right to Get the Right Things Done” which is the definition of Behavioral Intelligence.

Another important insight that guides me is who I am (mind/body/spirit) as much as what I know is a key component of my effectiveness with others. I learned that I could know about what others should do but if I spoke only from my head and not with my heart and experience as well I didn’t hear, “I want what she’s having.” I know the more I have value and passion about my experiences and life and what they mean to me, the more likely my clients are to release their fear, catch the fire and are willing to try something new. When we have learned through experience, clients realize if we have done it, perhaps, so can they.

Why this history lesson and introduction: Because Behavioral Intelligence is the new kid on the block and until you understand what it is, how it’s different from emotional intelligence and why it’s important there is little reason for you to read further or to develop your own Behavioral Intelligence, for your own benefit as well as for the benefit of your clients or other people in your life. “You can take your clients only as far as you have been” (Dr. Carol Gaffney, 1995) and if you want to guide and lead rather than tell and push then it’s time to start your experience in change, transformation and Behavioral Intelligence.

For more information about the Behavioral Intelligence Development Course starting in February, please contact me: