EQ – Another Kind of Smart & More Important

For decades social science had no answer to the peculiar and consistent finding that people with average IQs outperform those with higher IQs more than 70% of the time.

Peter Salovey, in his seminal article, Emotional Intelligence: Imagination, Cognition and Personality (1989), was the first to bring awareness to the reality of Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Hard to believe that was 30 years ago.

In more recent times, Daniel Goleman has become a global thought leader of EQ theory and application. His article, What Makes a Great Leader, published in the Harvard Business Review in 2004, continues to be one of the most downloaded articles in HBR history. Surprise! High EQ is the characteristic that sets great leaders apart from the pack.

Until recent years, IQ was considered the sole source of professional success. After decades of research, scholars like Daniel Goleman are now pointing to EQ as the critical factor in star performance.

EQ is the “intangible” in each of us that affects how we manage our own responses and behaviour; navigate complexities in social environments; and make important decisions.

Travis Bradberry is becoming well known around the world for his accessible teaching and practical training in EQ. He says that EQ consists of a handful of skills under two categories: personal competence and social competence.

Personal competence includes self-awareness and self-management. Self-awareness is your ability to accurately perceive your own emotions and stay aware of them even (especially!) when things get heated. Self-management is the ability to observe and monitor your emotions while remaining flexible enough to positively direct your behaviour. It is the opposite of a fight of flight mentality.

Social competence consists of social awareness and relationship management. Social awareness is your ability to accurately understand the moods, behaviours and motives of others. Relationship management is the ability to influence relationships without manipulating them.

EQ is linked to performance. Travis Bradberry’s agency, TalentSmart, tested EQ with 33 other workplace skills and concluded that EQ is the strongest predictor of performance in all types of jobs. 90% of top performers are high in EQ. Just 20% of the lowest performers possess high EQ. These findings hold true in all industries, at every level in the organization and in every region of the world.

There is good news for leaders – EQ can be developed.

Leaders that learn to better manage personal responses and behaviour strengthen their ability to influence others without having to manipulate them or lean on a title to get them to do what they want them to do.

Leaders that learn to navigate the complexities of social environments become more effective in building healthy cultures and culture eats strategy for lunch.

Leaders that learn to make better decisions and quicker, become more competent in leading change and change is the permanent landscape of leadership.