ISJ April 2014: Book review – The OIQ Factor: Raising your school’s organizational intelligence

By William Powell and Ochan Kusuma Powell
Reviewed by Lesley Snowball

Abstract:

‘Statistically speaking, the more women in the group the smarter the group.’ This line, if nothing else, should compel you to read this book.

It is often said that a school’s greatest asset is its faculty and it is common for a faculty’s combined years of experience to number in the hundreds. Yet it is also common for a faculty’s effectiveness to be limited by systems, structures and procedures that are inefficient, unresponsive and ineffective.

The Powells’ book, The OIQ Factor: Raising our school’s organizational intelligence, addresses this phenomenon, suggesting that all schools can become smarter cognitively, socially and emotionally, thereby increasing their effectiveness and the quality of student learning. Schools with a high OIQ factor are characterised as places where enjoyment and purposeful productivity go hand-in-hand; where intrinsic motivation, responsibility, collaboration and trust are the norm; where leadership is shared and professional satisfaction levels are high; where teachers and students want to be.