High EQ EQuates to Better Leadership
While the term “IQ” is fully embedded in our vernacular, we are starting to become more aware of a concept that may be just as important, if not more: EQ. Short for “emotional quotient,” EQ is also occasionally referred to as EI or emotional intelligence. EQ is defined as someone’s ability to perceive, understand and manage their own feelings and emotions. For leaders in the workplace, EQ can be a gamechanger.
For years, there has been heavy emphasis placed on IQ and its ability to predict success. That’s an outdated notion, says Abby Waters, a certified Talent Management Coach who works with executives and teams on EQ regularly through her consulting agency Grow-Coach. According to Waters, companies that invest in EQ are seeing a higher success rate than those who are not. “Science shows people don’t get very far in their profession if they don’t utilize emotional intelligence,” says Waters, adding that high EQ — over IQ — can set good leaders apart.
While EQ was established as a concept in psychology back in the 1990s, it has started to gain traction more recently for two defining reasons:
- Its link to higher job satisfaction for those with high EQ as well as employees who work with or are managed by those with high EQ
- Its positive correlation with job performance
Daniel Goleman, renowned expert on emotional intelligence who has studied the phenomenon for years, had this to say about EQ in the workplace: “The interest in emotional intelligence in the workplace stems from the widespread recognition that these abilities — self-awareness, self-management, empathy and social skill — separate the most successful workers and leaders from the average. This is especially true in roles like the professions and higher level executives, where everyone is about as smart as everyone else, and how people manage themselves and their relationships gives the best and edge.”
What does EQ look like in action?
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Madeleine Niebauer is the Founder & CEO of vChief Virtual Chief of Staff service, which offers part-time and interim chief of staff support to start-ups, nonprofit organizations, and businesses of all sizes.
