It’s no secret that stress levels have spiked exponentially in recent years. The COVID pandemic brought with it unique challenges, including health and financial worries, remote work demands, schooling and childcare issues, mental health struggles, and job insecurities, just to name a few. Add to that increasing fears of violence, social tensions, and international threats, and it’s no wonder people – and organizations – everywhere are struggling! Now, more than ever, the skills associated with Emotional Intelligence are essential.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Increased stress naturally leads to heightened emotions, which in turn can drive disruptive emotions and behaviors – sometimes to the extreme. Let’s consider some examples by applying the DISC methodology. Someone who is a High D may become aggressive or explosive. A High I might become overly dramatic and reel others into it with them. A High S may withdraw and let things fester to their own detriment. And a High C could become increasingly critical and judgmental, resisting next steps. All of these responses can be disruptive to productivity and results, not to mention relationships. Emotional Intelligence, as measured by the Emotional Quotient (EQ) assessment, is our ability to recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions and recognize, understand, and influence the emotions of others. It’s not about not having emotions; rather, it’s about how to process our disruptive emotions and get back to “normal.” As defined by Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., Emotional Intelligence skills fall into two domains: Personal Competence and Social Competence. Personal Competence is about how we manage ourselves through Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, and Motivation. Social Competence is how we manage relationships through Empathy and Social Skills. We’ll explore each of these five elements in our upcoming blog posts.
Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important?
As Goleman wrote in his book, Working with Emotional Intelligence:
“We’re being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how we handle ourselves and each other. This yardstick is increasingly applied in choosing who will be hired and who will not, who will be let go and who retained, who passed over and who promoted.”
While job skills and experience are inherent in our job descriptions and career paths, according to Goleman emotional intelligence is about 90% of what sets star performers apart from the mediocre.
For those in leadership positions, EQ is especially important. Leaders are judged by their actions, and reputations can be destroyed by poor self-management – as evidenced by the Will Smith “Academy Awards Slap” incident. Leadership 360 feedback tends to focus more on the impact of the negative/positive interactions with others rather than on job performance. Leaders with a high EQ recognize when someone is struggling and through empathy and observation are able to approach, diffuse, and get the struggling person back on track.
“I’ve learned people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did… but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
Team members are greatly influenced by their leadership’s EQ. When leaders fail to recognize and address team dysfunction, it can breed tribalism, competition, and siloing. This in turn can generate behaviors of avoidance, stress, fear, a lack of trust, and looking out for oneself rather than the team. In contrast, leaders with a higher EQ can make their teams feel confident, valued, supported, and engaged, willing to grow outside of their comfort zone. Team members readily trust, support, and follow leaders with a high EQ.
The good news is that EQ can be developed! Learn more about our Emotional Intelligence (EQ) training program.
