Many of us are aware of IQ (Intelligence Quotient) which is very often used to measure a person’s abilities. Those with higher IQs, tend to excel academically and would find it far less difficult to achieve such results than those with lower IQs. As a result of this, it’s often assumed that those with higher IQs will be more successful in working life, yet this often isn’t the best indicator. For instance, we have all met intellectuals who are ideal employees on paper, yet in reality they lack basic social skills that would be required of them in order to reach their full potential.
Enter Emotional Intelligence (EI or sometimes EQ – Emotional Quotient). This is a more modern and effective way to measure a person’s abilities and strengths which does not correlate with one’s IQ. And whilst our EQ isn’t something many of us often think about, it is something we can effectively work on.
“Emotional intelligence can be defined as having the ability to identify, understand and manage your own emotions, as well as being able to recognise, understand and influence the emotions of others.”
Being emotionally intelligent does not simply mean you are a highly emotional person. In fact, there is no direct link between the two, being emotional describes a person as having and expressing strong feelings. Whereas being emotionally intelligent describes one’s awareness and abilities when it comes to emotions.
The video below, by HubSpot, looks at the five categories of EI (as identified by psychologist Daniel Goleman), being more aware of these traits and our own behaviour can help us all in striving for a higher EQ and thus, greater success.