Find our full list of Emotional Intelligence resources here!
It is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of head over heart – it is the unique intersection of both.
– Dan Caruso
Have you ever encountered a person that was just too book smart for their own good? How about having an excruciating conversation with someone because they don’t pick up on social cues? Perhaps you’ve interacted with someone who has no idea how they come across to others. Those are all examples of a lack of EQ and you can easily find it on a daily basis.
What is Emotional Intelligence
As our quote from Dan Caruso says, EQ is not something that competes against IQ. In combination, they make you the person that you are. IQ is set from birth. It’s not your intelligence, but your ability to learn. Barring a medical incident, your IQ doesn’t change from a high school student to a senior executive. Your EQ, however, is very pliable and you have a great influence on being able to grow and strengthen it.
EQ is also not an aspect that a person can compensate for or outthink with IQ or pure action. Your spinal cord is attached to the back of your brain and sends all information through the limbic (emotional) part of your brain before it arrives at your rational part. It’s an unavoidable skill set that you can influence or let it dictate your potential.
The Impact of EQ
The funny thing about emotional intelligence is that is rarely discussed or taught formally, yet it significantly impacts the work that you do. Studies show that it can account for 58% of your performance no matter your job type. It’s the single biggest predictor for performance, leadership ability, and your personal excellence. Here are a few of the many areas that grow in correlation to your growth in EQ:
- Stress tolerance
- Empathy
- Presentation skills
- Social skills
- Decision-making skills
- Trust
- Flexibility
- Customer Service
EQ is so valuable that it is tied directly to your earning potential. The higher the EQ, the higher your potential for salary. People with a high EQ make an average of $29,000 more a year than those with low EQ. It pays to increase your EQ!
There are four main areas in emotional intelligence that help us increase our EQ. We’ll cover these in detail over the next four weeks.
Self-Awareness: This may be the most important piece and is the linchpin to success with the other three sections. In other words, you can’t be strong in the other sections without good self-awareness.
Self-Management: This will cover how we handle disappointment, frustration, anger, change, and problem-solving.
Social Awareness: This will cover how to properly navigate those critical first moments while meeting someone new, listening, etiquette, and reading a room.
Relationship Management: This will cover how to handle feedback, how to show your emotions to others in the right way and in the right context as well as building trust.
Increase your EQ to make yourself a stand-out leader, a less stressful person, and maybe put a little bit of extra money in your pocket as a result.
Make a better tomorrow.
-ZH
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