Beyond IQ and EQ: Why Tech Professionals Need AQ (Adaptability Quotient)
**The New Success Formula**: In an AI-driven world, technical skills (IQ) + emotional intelligence (EQ) + adaptability quotient (AQ) = career resilience.
The rules of tech career success are changing faster than most professionals can adapt. At Info-Tech Live 2025, Geoff Nielson from Info-Tech's Global Services team and Jennifer Rozon from McLean & Company delivered a stark message: while technical skills remain important, the future belongs to those who master what they call "durable skills"—particularly adaptability.
"We're facing a huge risk right now," Nielson explained during our interview. "We need to rethink the entire platform. This isn't an AI-proof model. We're going to go through rough times for the next few years."
For tech professionals wondering how to future-proof their careers, the answer isn't just staying current with the latest frameworks or programming languages. It's developing a new kind of intelligence: Adaptability Quotient.
The Leadership Avoidance Crisis
One of the most surprising trends emerging in tech is what Nielson calls "leadership avoidance"—younger IT professionals actively resisting management roles despite having the technical skills to succeed.
"This has been an issue for 20-30 years," Nielson noted. "There's a gap between being a great technologist and having the skills as a leader. It comes down to culture and whether managers are empowered to view their role as an extension of what they're doing and expand their impact."
The problem isn't just reluctance—it's fear. When technical professionals get promoted to management, they experience what Nielson describes as "loss of the familiar."
"It's been what you know, and now you're dealing with a radically different skill set," he explained. "Organizations need to provide additional support and show empathy for this transition."
**Career Strategy**: Don't wait for a promotion to start developing leadership skills. Begin building your AQ and EQ now, while you're still in an individual contributor role.
Escaping the Technical Expert Trap
Many high-performing developers and architects resist management because they fear losing their technical edge. It's a legitimate concern, but Nielson suggests organizations need to rethink career progression entirely.
"Create a two-tier leadership path—people leaders versus technical leaders," he recommended. "We're seeing the decline of traditional job descriptions. Ask: what does the organization need, and how do we empower people accordingly?"
This dual-track approach recognizes that not every great technologist should become a people manager, but every professional needs to develop leadership capabilities within their domain.
The AI Anxiety Factor
The elephant in the room for many tech professionals is AI's impact on career development. If AI tools like Devin AI can generate thousands of lines of code daily, what happens to junior developers trying to learn their craft?
"Are we creating a 'missing middle' in career development?" This question from my interview with Nielson hit a nerve. His response was sobering: "Huge risk right now. We need to rethink the entire platform."
The solution isn't to resist AI—it's to understand how to leverage it as an ally rather than viewing it as a threat.
⚠️ **Reality Check**: If you want to advance in your career, you need to figure out the best way to use AI tools, not compete against them.
Developing Your Adaptability Quotient
So what exactly is AQ, and how do you develop it? Unlike IQ (cognitive ability) or EQ (emotional intelligence), AQ measures your ability to adapt to change, learn from failures, and thrive in uncertain environments.
The Four Pillars of AQ Development
1. Embrace Continuous Learning
But not the overwhelming "learn everything" approach that leads to burnout. As Nielson points out, "Everyone talks about 'lifelong learning,' but people are burning out trying to keep up with constant skill updates. You need to help individuals and teams prioritize what's worth learning versus what they can safely ignore."
2. Build Resilience Systematically
"Resilience is key to handling constant change," Rozon emphasized. "You need to build resilience as a learnable skill rather than just hoping people naturally develop it."
This means developing frameworks for bouncing back from failures, managing stress during uncertain times, and maintaining performance when everything around you is changing.
3. Develop Cultural Intelligence
In cross-generational teams where "22-year-old AI natives work alongside 50-year-old infrastructure experts," the ability to bridge different work styles and career concerns becomes crucial.
4. Master the Art of Storytelling
"Storytelling is crucial for IT leaders, but most struggle with it," Rozon noted. For technically-minded professionals, developing narrative skills helps translate complex technical concepts into business impact—a critical skill as IT becomes more central to organizational strategy.
The EQ-AQ Connection
Emotional intelligence and adaptability quotient work together. You can't adapt effectively without understanding both your own emotional responses to change and how others react to uncertainty.
Nielson shared practical advice for developing EQ in analytical minds: "For analytically-minded IT professionals, start with frameworks and exercises that appeal to their logical thinking. Use data-driven approaches to measure emotional patterns and responses."
Measuring Soft Skill Progress
Unlike technical skills, soft skills can be harder to track. But there are concrete ways to measure improvement:
- 360-degree feedback cycles that assess leadership impact
- Peer collaboration metrics during high-stress projects
- Response patterns during organizational changes
- Team retention and engagement scores for those in leadership roles
**Metrics That Matter**: Track how quickly you recover from setbacks, how effectively you communicate complex ideas, and how well you maintain team morale during uncertain times.
Culture as Your Career Foundation
One of the most powerful insights from the presentation was about organizational culture. "Culture is about the worst behavior you tolerate," Rozon explained. "How do you raise the floor?"
For individual contributors, this means being intentional about the teams and organizations you join. Look for cultures that invest in employee development, embrace change as opportunity rather than threat, and create psychological safety for experimentation and learning.
Nielson emphasized that culture isn't just something that happens to you: "Culture by default or design—it requires a commitment to drive success in the organization. Who we are and how we win, why work here and why buy from us."
The Manager-less Future?
With AI agents handling more coordination and project management tasks, what happens to middle management in IT? Nielson believes we'll see evolution, not elimination: "We'll need different types of managers, not necessarily fewer managers."
The new management role focuses less on task coordination and more on:
- Strategic thinking and vision-setting
- Cross-functional collaboration and influence
- Team development and culture building
- Change management and adaptability coaching
Your Action Plan for Building AQ
Assess Your Current Adaptability: How do you typically respond to unexpected changes in project requirements, technology stacks, or team structures?
Practice Micro-Adaptations: Start small. Change your development workflow, try a new tool, or volunteer for a project outside your comfort zone.
Build Your Story Bank: Document challenges you've overcome, problems you've solved, and how you've adapted to change. These stories become powerful tools for interviews and leadership opportunities.
Seek Cross-Functional Exposure: Work with marketing, sales, or product teams to understand how technology impacts the broader business.
Develop Others: Teaching and mentoring force you to articulate complex concepts clearly—a key component of both EQ and AQ.
The Bottom Line
As Nielson concluded our interview: "While things are turbulent, we are not in danger." The key is recognizing that danger comes not from AI or technological change, but from failing to adapt to the new requirements for success.
Technical skills got you this far. EQ helped you work effectively with others. But AQ—your ability to adapt, learn, and thrive amid constant change—will determine whether you lead the future or get left behind by it.
The choice is yours. The time to start building your adaptability quotient is now.