Brett January 18, 2021

For decades social scientists have found that organizational leaders with average IQs outperform those with higher IQs more than 70% of the time.

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

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. No surprise, high EQ is what sets great leaders apart.

For decades social scientists have found that organizational leaders with average IQs outperform those with higher IQs more than 70% of the time. Click To Tweet

Until recently, IQ was considered the primary source of professional success. After decades of research, scholars like Salovey and Goleman are proving that EQ as the critical factor in higher performance.

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 the ability to accurately perceive your own emotions and stay aware of them even if things get heated or stressful. Self-management is the ability to monitor and manage your emotions while remaining flexible enough to direct your behaviour. It is the opposite of a fight or flight mentality.

Self-management is the ability to monitor and manage your emotions while remaining flexible enough to direct your behaviour. It is the opposite of a fight or flight mentality. Click To Tweet

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.

Emotionally Intelligent relationship management is the ability to influence relationships without manipulating them. Click To Tweet

EQ is correlated with high performance. Bradberry’s agency, TalentSmart, tested EQ with 33 other workplace skills and concluded that EQ is the strongest predictor of performance. 90% of top performers across multiple industries are high in EQ. These findings hold true in all industries, at every level in the organization and in every region of the world.

Leaders that learn to develop their EQ strengthen their ability to influence others without having to manipulate them or lean on their title. Also, leaders with high EQ better navigate the complexities of social environments and become more effective in building healthy cultures. Furthermore, leaders with high EQ make better and quicker decisions. Finally, high EQ leaders are more competent in leading change and change is the permanent landscape of leadership.

If Emotional Intelligence is new to you, check out the following reads (I am not an affiliate). Enjoy!

Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ

Emotional Intelligence 2.0

90% of top performers are high in EQ. These findings hold true in all industries, at every level in the organization and in every region of the world. Click To Tweet