EQ factor
Ever since the terms Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) were coined, and came into corporate usage, it has created a large amount of excitement. Large corporations have par-ticularly benefitted from their subscription to the EI theory both in good and bad times, but more specifically during the downturn since their mental investment in the EI theory early on had gotten them better employees who helped tide over the downturn by being better workers and emotion managers. Those people led teams that were ‘EI enriched’ or ‘trained in EI’ and worked superbly helping the corporations stay afloat. Members of these enriched teams cultivated a healthy habit of competing as well as helping the others grow as well.
The concept of Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) had everyone’s imagination fired up pushing them to measure their Emotional Intelligence / Emotional Intelligence Quotient. The earlier big outing was to examine one’s Intelligence Quotient(IQ). What caused EQ to trump IQ? Researchers found that Intelligence Quotient (IQ) did not sufficiently account for com-plete cognitive ability of a human being. It could not answer adequately why and how people behaved in a particular manner in a given situation and what emotional qualities and hold over emotions predestined one to guaranteed better performance and eventual success. This was the space the Emotional Intelligence theory could amply satiate. Some researchers still dismiss EQ as insufficiently proven since they do not find scientific correlations to what the theory claims. Researchers are also divided on the idea that EI is an inborn characteristic.
One faction holds it as a skill that can be nurtured in a human being while others hold it as something a person is born with. Nevertheless, EQ continues to hog mindspace in every corporation’s hiring and people man-agement mechanism.The terms emotion and intelligence have specific, scientific meanings attached to them. By spelling out what these two terms identify with, researchers have proved the possible ways they can be brought together and used together. Emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger and fear refer to feelings that sig-nal information about relationships. Intelligence refers to the capacity to carry out abstract reasoning, recognize patterns and, compare and contrast. Thus Emotional Intelligence in general is defined as the ability to identify, use, understand and manage emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, com-municate effectively, empathize with others, overcome chal-lenges, and defuse conflict. The impact of EI in a person’s life is a measure of how he reacts to different situations and the way he interacts with people. There are no set standards in EI but the tests designed to measure EQ take into account among others, the person’s attitude to life, problem solving ability, calmness when faced with issues, interactions with people, team management skills, ability to inspire others, ability to diffuse conflict and work without arousing conflict.
A person is said to have high emotional intelligence if he displays the ability to recognise his own emotional state and the emotional states of others, and engage with people in a way that draws them to him.
High EI helps a person understand the emotions of others and relating better to them, empathising with them. People with higher EI have the pri-mary ability to differentiate ‘what they are feeling’ from ‘what they are thinking’.There are five main elements of emotional intelligence:
(a) Self-awareness (b) Self-regulation (c) Motivation (d) Em-pathy and (e) Social skills (Credit: Daniel Goleman, the American psychologist who helped popularise EI)
"Emotional intelligence is the key to determining if you’re rewarding to deal with."
Self-awareness: A skill wherein emotionally in-telligent leaders have been observed to demonstrate their ability to understand and identify the emotion they are feeling and the reason behind the emotion (different from their assumption of the problem that caused the emotion). They have a natural ability to keep their emotions balanced. They do not stereotype people, speak without thinking, lose control or make emotional decisions.
Self-regulation: It is ability to respond to chal-lenges calmly, to not allow surprises to mentally jolt them, to adhere to their values even under pressure and demonstrate accountability. It is also the knack to make careful, informed decisions.
Motivation: They have ability to motivate self and others, transmit hope and moral upliftment to the people they engage with.
Empathy: They are offensive and make a positive effort to see the other person’s perspective. Endear-ing/ inoffensive body language they make a positive effect on the other person. They are also encouraging and positive which help them receive the same from others.
Social skills: People with high EI enjoy great social presence and recognition. They are excellent communicators. Their conflict resolution skills range from mammoth to legendary.
Marks of people with high EQ
They are curious about people and make excellent conversationalists.
They are self-aware.
They are good listeners and know how to pay attention to the job at hand without getting distracted.
They can say no.
They can meet deadlines calmly.
They are motivated and inspire the same in others.
HOW TO DEMONSTRATE
EI IN A JOB INTERVIEW
Questions based on EI are mostly to measure a person’s ability to handle well in today’s highly stressed work environments, to work in a team without clashing, inspiring the team, and be morally sound.
While a high IQ and a demonstrated ability to han-dle a function well are vital, more and more organisa-tions are assigning equal weightage to their prospec-tive employee’s EQ. Therefore, every job interview is interspersed with people-skills and self-analytical questions that probe deep into the psyche of the inter-viewee and helps the interviewer get a better picture of what or whom they expect to be dealing with once they become part of the organisation.
The interviewee’s responses to how they will deal with sloppy co-workers, bad behaviour, people who do not meet deadlines, etc. are given careful as-sessment. Hirers seek collaborators and people who display a good degree of self-awareness, conviction about one’s work and ex-team and, maturity. It takes maturity and courage to accept one’s mistakes or short comings especially in front of an interview pan-el.These are some of the pointers for hirers about the intangible benefits of hiring the person who is seated in front of them.
Even in issues related to promotion, organisations have confessed to promoting the higher EI person when the contest was between two or more individu-als of similar IQ or work efficiency.
Ten EQ brush-up techniques
Practice the best of emotional intelligence at every instance so that it gets ingrained into your system.
Refer technique no. 1.
Distinguish and do not confuse thoughts with feelings.
Assume responsibility for your words and action.
Practise self-control.
Direct anger into constructive work.
Be empathetic and realistic.
Respect others.
Listen.
Communicate appropriately.
We all have different personalities, different wants and needs, and different ways of showing our emo-tions. Navigating through this all takes tact and clev-erness. The emotionally intelligent can identify their feelings, work on their emotions positively and, influ-ence thoughts and emotions in others. Emotional In-telligence is the key to building trust, creating a sense of identity and efficacy, preventing and resolving conflicts (of self and others), cooperating, and par-ticipating productively in a group. An early start to developing a higher EI is the key to success in today’s corporate world.
BUDDING MANAGERS
APRIL 2014 ISSUE
Rate This Article:
Posted On: Tuesday, 13 May, 2014 - 12:43