27-05-2025
The three types of intelligence and how leaders can leverage them
As we navigate modern-day complexities, understanding the way we learn, apply, and adapt knowledge becomes increasingly important. In the 1940s, psychologist Raymond Cattell is credited with popularizing an idea that I think about often: Human intelligence isn't just one thing—it's two. Later, his student, John Horn, expanded on this idea, elaborating on those two components of intelligence:
1. Fluid intelligence is how we solve new problems. It's how we think when there's no manual.
2. Crystallized intelligence is what we accumulate—knowledge, vocabulary, and life experiences. It's what we bring with us.
I was reminded of these concepts when reading From Strength to Strength – Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks. Brooks argues that the key to a fulfilling second half of life is knowing when—and how—to shift from relying on our declining fluid intelligence to embracing our growing crystallized intelligence.
Now, as AI is center stage in my industry, I find myself wondering, 'What happens to these two forms of human intelligence when we bring a third, manufactured form into the equation?'
AI'S ROLE IN OUR INTELLIGENCE
Everyone keeps asking whether AI will replace us. Maybe the better questions are: How does AI impact our intelligence, and what does it look like when all three types work together?
AI isn't a tool running parallel to us; it's running perpendicular to how we think, evolving how we solve problems, and how we apply knowledge.
In trying to make sense of AI's place within Horn and Cattell's intelligence models, I unearthed two truths:
• AI expands our fluid intelligence. It helps us see more, faster. It tests ideas and simulates outcomes. Like a sparring partner that never sleeps.
• AI also enhances our crystallized intelligence. It connects things, finds patterns, surfaces forgotten knowledge, and adds context. Used intentionally, it sharpens our ability to connect the dots that matter.
THE SYNERGY OF HUMAN AND AI
When we leverage both our fluid and crystallized intelligence, in tandem with AI (rather than just prompting it), we realize a new kind of exponential potential: Human + AI.
However, this synergy doesn't just happen; it takes deliberate orchestration, the kind I explored in The Art of Business and People Orchestration. It's not about controlling AI, nor letting it run wild. It's about knowing when to trust your brain, when to tap the machine, and how to make the mix work for you.
In the end, we still bring the meaning to the table. Intelligence is about what we do with what we know and the insights we gain along the journey that shape our intuition. This intuition, honed through years of experience, becomes an invaluable asset in decision-making.
So how can leaders leverage these three types of knowledge?
1. Through Strategic Self-Awareness
Understanding where you sit on the fluid-crystallized spectrum lets you use your natural and learned intelligence more intentionally. The AI surge has prompted this ultimate reality check.
I recently helped structure our biannual partners meeting. Knowing my strength in crystallized intelligence, I designed the agenda to give me time and space to prepare and bring relevant data I had gathered months earlier. This approach allowed me to share insights with other crystallized-intelligence-driven minds—people who also value time to connect non-obvious dots. Together, we invited more creativity and context into the room.
I used AI intentionally to support the mission, with a clear sense of when to tap into more crystallized intelligence-style tools (structured, deep, context-aware) versus when to lean on AI for quick, fluid 'a-ha' moments. The awareness of where I sit on the spectrum—and knowing how to guide AI accordingly—elevated the experience.
2. By Strengthening Their AI Utilization
Use AI as a partner, aligned with your organization's goals. Knowing how to tap into fluid and crystallized intelligence gives you a clearer idea of what you want to extract from the tools you use.
Some see AI as an oracle, others as a smart autocomplete tool or robot-like organizer. Everyone is right: AI reflects what we ask, and how we give it the right context. With pragmatic input, you get accurate answers; with generic prompts, you get wildly wrong ones. When you treat AI as a partner and understand how to access either fluid or crystallized intelligence through it, you unlock more value and avoid the common pitfalls.
3. By Becoming True Orchestrators
Master the balance of Natural + AI Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence. By doing this, you become a true orchestrator of this modern-day world. Not passengers or victims, but creators.
When I wrote my book, 'agentic' wasn't even on the radar, so I focused more on the orchestration of humans. In the early days of AI, humans led the orchestration, but now, agents are part of the mix. Just two years later, it's become a milkshake of tools, agents, and humans working together. The more one understands these entities, the better the orchestration—and the bigger the impact.
Fluid. Crystallized. Artificial. All of it. Together.
