Emotional Intelligence—(EQ)—is for real, and it’s vitally important to your success.
I just completed a certification course in the EQi 2.0 emotional intelligence assessment originally developed by Reuven Bar-On. Bar-On is one of the early researchers in the EQ arena and I can tell you that the assessment instrument is fantastic. I am very much looking forward to using this as part of my leader development process, what I call the Leadership Forge.
Not only that I learned more about my own emotional intelligence including my strengths and my weaker areas.
This is important because emotional intelligence is “that set of innate skills that allow you to address the emotional, personal, social, and survival dimensions of intelligence, which are often more important to successful coping with environmental demands and pressures than the more traditional cognitive aspects of intelligence.” (Stein & Book, 2011).
In everyday language, emotional intelligence is referred to as “street smarts” or “common sense” (Stein & Book, 2011).
IQ or EQ—Which is More Important to Your Success?
Whereas IQ is a measure of an individual’s intellectual, analytical, logical and rational abilities, EQ is that aspect of ourselves that enables us to make our way successfully in the world in terms of our relationships with others.
For example, I’m sure you’ve met someone along the way who is extremely smart, like Mensa smart. But that same person can’t lead their way out of a paper bag. Not only that, they rub others the wrong way, and career success seems to elude them.
In other words, high IQ does not equate to high EQ.
In fact, studies indicate that emotional intelligence accounts for 15-45% of work success, whereas cognitive intelligence has shown low and insignificant correlations with performance in the workplace (for example, Jae, J. H., 1997).
EQ Can Save Money? Gimmee Some of That Stuff!
Having people with strong emotional intelligence can save an organization money.
The United States Air Force found this out when it undertook a study to examine the role of emotional intelligence and success in recruiting. The Air Force found that for their recruiters EQ scores accounted for 45% of success in meeting their recruiting quotas.
Five EQi elements were identified that differentiated those who achieved 100% of their quota versus those who achieved 70% or less. With this information in hand, the Air Force started testing for these five key emotional intelligence elements when bringing on new recruiters. As a result, not only did recruiting rates go up, the retention of the recruiters themselves increased by 92%.
Factoring in the costs of hiring, training, and settling a new recruit into a position, this translated into a $2.7 million savings.
That’s real impact and real money that can be directly attributed to better use of emotional intelligence.
EQ and Leader Performance
Research studies have demonstrated that it is emotional intelligence that predicts effective transformational leadership skills (Barling, Slater, & Kelloway, 2000) and leadership performance and that the absence of emotional intelligence is related to career derailment (Ruderman, Hannum, Leslie, & Steed, 2001).
Emotional intelligence is critical to:
– Reading the political and social environment
– Planning a course of action that makes the most of the situation in terms of others need
– Contributing to the leader’s ability to actually lead people effectively
There was a time early in my Air Force career when I was characterized as “all afterburner and no rudder.” What this meant was that I habitually dissipated my energy in accomplishing my assigned tasks, one of which was leading my Airmen. In those days, it was “my way or the highway” and after a while I wondered why it was getting harder and harder for me to get things done.
The realization? I was not treating my people with the dignity and respect as the professionals they were. I wasn’t listening to them, and boy did they try to tell me what I needed to know. But I didn’t–and many times wouldn’t–hear them. Not only that, I was all over the place when it came to vision and direction. After a while, I wondered why no one wanted to talk to me.
And no wonder I was failing as a leader.
I learned through hard won experience that it really wasn’t my way or the highway. In fact I and the entire team were on the same road together. I changed my ways. In effect, I became more emotionally intelligent in my behavior toward people. In other words, more empathetic, more self-aware, and less aggressive. I began to put a priority on the quality of my interactions with my people.
It was the best thing I ever did in terms of career success and satisfaction, but even more importantly from the standpoint of the quality of my human relationships.
I still work on these things—and more—to this very day. I’m far from perfect, but if the results of my EQi assessment are any indication, I’ve made a ton of progress and have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to being more emotionally intelligent.
Want to Improve Your EQ? Work on the 15 Elements of Emotional Intelligence
Although your baseline emotional intelligence is innate, your ability to employ that capacity can be developed. The first thing you need to do is understand the elements of emotional intelligence.
Self-Awareness – the ability to recognize how you’re feeling and why you’re feeling that way and the impact your behavior has on others;
Assertiveness – the ability to clearly express your thoughts and feelings, stand your ground and defend a position;
Independence – the ability to be self-directed and self-controlled, to stand on your own two feet;
Self-Regard – the ability to recognize your strengths and weaknesses and to feel good about yourself despite your weaknesses;
Self-Actualization – the ability to realize your potential and feel comfortable with what you achieve at work and in your personal life.
Empathy – the ability to understand what others might be feeling and thinking. It is the ability to view the world through another person’s eyes.
Social Responsibility – the ability to be a cooperative and contributing member of your social group.
Interpersonal Relationships – the ability to forge and maintain relationships that are mutually beneficial and marked by give-and-take and a sense of emotional closeness.
Reality Testing – the ability to see things as they actually are, rather than the way you wish or fear they might be
Flexibility -the ability to adjust your feelings, thoughts and actions to changing conditions
Problem-Solving – the ability to define problems, then move to generate and implement effective, appropriate solutions.
Stress Tolerance – the ability to remain calm and focused, to constructively withstand adverse events and conflicting emotions without caving in
Impulse Control – the ability to resist or delay a temptation to act.
Optimism – the ability to maintain a realistically positive attitude, particularly in the face of adversity;
Happiness – the ability to feel satisfied with life, to enjoy yourself and others, and to experience zest and enthusiasm in a range of activities.
The next thing is to understand where you rate on each of these elements. Through increased awareness, you will start to get a leg up on your ability to use—and improve—your emotional intelligence.
The Bottom Line: Commit Now to Improving Your EQ
The case has been made—EQ is essential to your success and the success of your team.
If you really want to improve your EQ, I strongly recommend taking the EQi assessment, reviewing it with a coach, working with your coach to put together an action plan, then continuing to engage regularly with the coach for accountability and ongoing feedback.
The question is: when do you want to start improving your EQ?
Here’s a hint: I’m taking on clients now. Contact me to be one of them.
By Joe Scherrer | The Leadership Crucible