Daniel Goleman, one of the leaders in emotional intelligence, has said that one’s Emotional Quotient (EQ) is a much better predictor of success as a manager than Intellectual Quotient (IQ). IQ may get you the original job, but EQ helps you excel in it. That's because managing people is less about how smart you are and more about understanding people and helping them succeed. In cases of extreme IQ, it is not uncommon to see a low EQ. It is also very common for someone on the autistic spectrum to have a high IQ and a low EQ - typically not comprehending social cues.
The good news for everyone is that EQ naturally increases as we age, as the brain records more life experience. That indicates that an EQ assessment may have some bias against younger people, though that is still debated. Until that is resolved, EQ assessments should not be used for hiring, but we can chalk one up for the older employee!
Some people are gifted with a naturally high EQ. These people can be fast tracked to management if that is their desired career development path. For others who want to be in management yet have a lower EQ, they can work on increasing it consciously, with some intentional homework.
EQ Cautionary Tales
I once had a client who had a very low EQ. He had a high end home furnishing company that not only sold, but also installed products. He would write up proposals for homeowners and present them in person. The percentage of homeowners who ended up buying was well under 50%. He told me that he never knew their reaction to the proposal. He could not pick up on the social cues, so he could never adapt his behavior to their liking. As the saying goes, “people buy from those they know, like and trust.” This business owner was emotionally distant, so the potential buyers never got to know him. It isn’t a surprise that his closing rate was so low. He also had trouble getting and keeping good employees.
Another experience I had with a low EQ manager was during a period of layoffs. After unemotionally telling an engineer that his job was eliminated, the manager went back to his desk, then later felt that he wasn’t clear enough. To (albeit unintentionally) add insult to injury, he returned to the same employee after about 30 minutes to reinforce that the person’s last day was today and he had to clean out his desk. There was no apparent empathy, apology, or remorse.
I personally had an experience with my manager’s manager, who led with no empathy and few social skills. After I was promoted into a position, I took the opportunity to schedule a meeting with him to get some face time. Since I am goal oriented, I asked him what he thought the next goal for me should be. He said that he wasn’t sure that I deserved the last promotion. I went from being ready to conquer the world to deflated with less confidence. We used to say he managed by whacking a 2x4 over your head, and that is how I felt. He must have felt that knocking me down would motivate me. He had one style for everyone whether it worked or not.
In all these cases, the people involved could have benefited from a higher Emotional Quotient.
Learn More
If you’d like to dive deeper into EQ, pick up the book Working with Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. Taking the EQ assessment from TTI will also give you greater insight, give you an idea of how well developed each of these areas are, and provide direction on how to improve each of the areas. As a general rule, journaling helps in improve because one can go back and try to find a trend for why certain things happen. Here is a sample report you would receive after taking the assessment.
If you're interested in learning more about EQ or taking the assessment, please contact us.