The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

18 / UNDERSTANDING YOURSELF

Using emotional intelligence

Understanding EQ

Your EQ is the measure of your ability

to understand and interact with others

and becomes more important the more

people you deal with. EQ does not

measure personality traits or cognitive

capacity. Emotional intelligence can

be developed over time and can be

improved through training and therapy.

Those with a high EQ will be better

able to control their own emotions,

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to monitor and work with your

and others’ emotions. It is measured in EQ, which is the emotional

equivalent of IQ. Daniel Goleman—author of the best-selling Emotional

Intelligence—and other writers suggest that a technically proficient

manager with a high EQ will be more successful than a manager who

has only a high IQ.

while at the same time using them

as a basis for action. Working with

emotions, rather than being at the

mercy of them, makes individuals

more successful in dealing with the

demands of the environment around

them. They are better able to control

impulses and deal with stress, and

better at problem solving. All of these

qualities help the individual perform

more competently at work.

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