What is ‘Emotional Intelligence’?

‘Before you can be a leader you must know who you are and what you stand for’
Mayor Rudi Giuliani

IQ or Intelligence Quotient has been an accepted measure of an individual’s performance since Galton’s work in the 1800’s.  Increasingly however there is a focus on the importance of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in the workplace. 

Indeed, why with equivalent IQ do some individuals fly while others walk?

There is growing awareness that top performers in business have certain qualities that go beyond technical skills or business experience and as a consequence we are now being judged by a new yardstick – not how smart we are in terms of training and expertise, but on how well we handle ourselves and each other within the context of personal qualities such as:

Self awareness
Influence
Empathy
Adaptability
Emotional resilience

‘Emotional Intelligence’, based on the original work by Daniel Goleman, is described as:

  1. knowing what you are feeling and being able to handle those feelings without having them swamp you;
  2. being resilient and able to motivate yourself to get jobs done, be creative and perform at your peak;
  3. sensing what others are feeling and handling relationships effectively.

Those individuals who have a good mix of IQ and EQ tend to be more successful in their chosen fields than those who have outstanding IQ and under-developed Emotional Intelligence.  Indeed Goldman’s research indicates that 36% of leadership can be attributed to EI compared with 27% attributable to IQ and a mere 15% to technical expertise.
Research suggests that the 2 most common traits of those who fail as leaders are:

  1. Rigidity – an inability to adapt one’s style as appropriate and to respond to feedback about oneself
  2. Developing poor relationships - being too harshly critical, insensitive or demanding and alienating those they work with and unable to flex to individual needs

 

Recognising the role of Emotional Intelligence can be highly significant to organisations who believe that people are their competitive advantage.  EQ can be measured using a number of self assessment psychometric questionnaires which when discussed in a feedback session with a trained Occupational Psychologist can offer real insight into our ability to handle ourselves and treat others appropriately in order to achieve our business goals.
The Emotional Intelligence Tools are widely used for self and 360 degree Appraisal, and most especially for personal, team and organisational Development.

For more information please call Kathy Denton on 01302 761222.