You may have heard the term “emotional intelligence” or EQ and wondered what exactly do we mean by it?   In addition, you may have wondered is it really important, or just the latest fad in leadership literature? 

Over 25 years ago, in his groundbreaking work Emotional Intelligence – Why It Can Matter More than IQ, Daniel Goleman defined EQ as “the ability to identify, assess and control one’s own emotions, the emotions of others and that of groups”.  He then went on to share his findings of how these “soft skills” were better predictors of success than IQ or technical skills.  He followed this up in 1998 with an article in the Harvard Business Review entitled “What Makes a Leader”.  In it he shared that truly effective leaders are also characterized by having a high degree of emotional intelligence.  It’s not that IQ and technical skills are not important – they are often the “tickets to entry” in many organizations.  However, you need more than just IQ and technical skills to advance in the world of work.  

We can probably all think of individuals who were experts in their field but were volatile and could not interact well with others.  As a result, they had suboptimal performance and were less successful than they might have been.  Goleman, in fact, found in studying nearly 200 large, global companies that emotional intelligence proved to be twice as important as technical skills and IQ in predicting job success at all levels in organizations.  When looking at senior leadership positions, the criticality of emotional intelligence was even more pronounced.  Goleman shares that “when I compared star performers with average ones in senior leadership positions, nearly 90% of the difference in their profiles was attributable to emotional intelligence factors rather than cognitive factors.”  

Goleman then went on to describe what some of these emotional intelligence factors consisted of:

• Self-awareness (the ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions, and drives as well as their effect on others)

• Self-regulation (the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods; the propensity to suspend judgment – to think before acting)

• Motivation (a passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status; a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence)

• Empathy (the ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people; skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions)

• Social Skills (proficiency in managing relationships and building networks; an ability to find common ground and build rapport)

As I think back on my years in global sales leadership development, I certainly saw the importance of EQ demonstrated in both the sales representative and sales leader roles.  Those sales representatives who were aware of and able to manage their own emotions effectively (e.g.  remain resilient despite many rejections), as well as interact well with customers and team members were more likely to have great sales results.  In addition, those sales leaders who knew how not to let any negative emotions impact their teams and knew how to bring out the best in each, and every, individual on their teams were more likely to have high performing teams and ultimately get promoted.  

In addition, as you think back on the some of the best leaders or mentors you have known, how would you describe them?  Was it their IQ and technical skills that made them stand out for you or something else?  Typically, when I have asked people this question in workshops, the responses have been ones that fall more into the emotional intelligence realm such as trustworthy, demonstrated integrity, believed in me, and inspiring.  It reminds me of the Maya Angelou quote: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

So, if you buy into the importance of emotional intelligence in your leadership journey, what should you do?  Also how do you grow in this area, particularly if you are in a leadership position?  The good news is that unlike IQ (which tends to be fixed by the time you reach adulthood), you can continue to grow and develop your EQ well into your sixties and seventies.  If you would like to learn more and get a baseline assessment of where you are in your EQ journey, please reach out to me and we can discuss this further at lesley@mackellarconsultinggroup.com