The capability of people to perform the work or job that they do falls into three areas:
* Technical skills – which includes technical expertise e.g. accountancy skills.
* Intellectual capability – which is commonly known as IQ, or cognitive abilities.
* Emotional capability – often referred to as emotional intelligence or EI.
Whilst a significant amount of information, research and education exists in the fields of technical skills and intellectual capability, the area of Emotional Intelligence (aka EI, or EQ) remains largely untouched.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise, understand and manage emotions in ourselves and others. Emotional intelligence is divided into the four clusters of: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness and Relationship Management (often referred to very broadly as 'people skills' in years gone by). Daniel Goleman, a leader in this field, has identified that successful managers and leaders possess a high percentage of emotional intelligence. By successful we mean those who have:
* achieved better financial results
* developed more effective and supportive organisational climates or culture
* achieved higher productivity gains with their workforce.
Goleman’s (1998) findings also indicated that emotional intelligence contributes 80 to 90 per cent of the competencies that distinguish outstanding leaders from average leaders. The behaviours identified include:
* the ability to recognise and understand their own moods, emotions and drives as well as their effect on others
* the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses, moods and to think before acting
* the passion to work for reasons beyond money or status and the propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence
* the ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people and the skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions
* proficiency in managing relationships, building networks and the ability to find common ground and build rapport.
IQ versus EI
In professional and technical fields the typical entry-level threshold IQ is 110 to 120. It is generally considered that your IQ, which is largely genetic, will change little from childhood. Since everyone is in the top 10% or so of intelligence, IQ itself offers relatively little competitive advantage.
EI on the other hand can be learned at any age. Growing your competency in EI is not easy or quick, as it takes perseverance in the process of critical self-evaluation, commitment to improvement and, of course, behavioural practice. It is also important to note that competence in emotional intelligence does not necessarily increase with age as you might expect. Some people may learn from life’s experiences, but many do not.