negotiateconflictand
workaspartofa team.UnpackIngthE
IQvsEQdEBatE
ThefieldofEQhashad
a massiveimpacton
thewaywethinkabout
ourselves,theworldand
ourabilitytosucceedin
life.It’seasierforpeople
toassumethatsuccessin
liferelatestoIQ– smarter
individualsareboundto
triumphoverthoseless
intelligent.Butthisisn’tso.
It’spossiblefora person
withanaverageIQto
bemoresuccessfulthan
a genius,butonlyif the
personinquestionhas
a higherlevelofemotional
intelligence.YourIQ
willgetyouthrough
schoolanduniversity,
butyourEQwillgetyou
throughlife.
Asadults,weneedgood
EQskillstodealwithlife’s
stressors.GoodEQskills
havebeenfoundtobe
themostimportantskills
a leadercanhavetobe
successful.Manyexperts
willgoasfarastosaythat
a person’sEQmaybemore
importantthantheirIQ,
andis a betterpredictor
ofsuccess,qualityof
relationshipsandoverallhappiness.Thishasbeenproventimeandtimeagainand
is essentialina worldwherementalillnessis rising.As
mentalhealthissuesandlife’sdemandsrise,it’sbecome
moreimportanttohavetheawarenessofone’semotional
spacetoputmeasuresinplacetosafeguardourselves.canIlIstEQas
askIllonmycv?
Whencreatinga bio,expresswhyyouconsideryourself
tobeanemotionallyintelligentperson,andif you’ve
completedanycoursesorhaveanyqualificationsthat
maybeessential.However,asthisis onlya perceptionof
yourself,youmayneedtoaddreferencesthatcanvouch
foryourskills.WhyIsItImportantfor
EmployErstohIrE
somEonEWIthahIghEQ?
HigherEQsequalsa happierworkforceandlowerstaff
turnover.If peoplecanberealwiththemselvesandtheir
emotions,andcantakeresponsibilityfortheirown
actions,therewillbefewerblowoutsandbreakdowns,
andbetterworkingrelationshipsbetweenemployees.
Weallhaveemotionswecarryaround;positiveor
negative,fromchildhood,athome,ourrelationships.
Butif weseektounderstandothersbydisplayingempathy
andgettingtoknowthemandtheirsituation,wecan
furtherunderstandtheirmotivationsandwhytheyreact
orrespondincertainways.hoWWIllEQhElpmEmanagE
WorkprEssUrEanddEal
WIthdIffIcUltclIEnts?
You’llbemoreself-awareandcognisantofother’s
emotionalspace,andthatmeansyou’llbelessstressed
andabletomanageyourselfandrespectivepeoplebetter.
How?Yourcommunicationskillswillimproveasyou’re
abletoempathiseandunderstandhowtheir“ownstuff ”
shouldn’tbetakenpersonally.
Bybeingintunewithourselves,wecancometovalue
ourselvesmoreandidentifywhatareasneedfinetuning.WhatIsEQ?
Emotionalintelligence
referstotheabilityto
identifyandmanageone’s
ownemotionsandthe
emotionsofothers.To
breakit down,emotional
intelligence(oremotional
quotient,asit’ssometimes
known)is ourlevelof
abilitytopractiseself-
awareness,recognise
andunderstandour
emotionsandreactions.Self-Regulation
Manage,controland
adaptouremotions,
mood,reactions
andresponses.emotional
awaReneSS
Awarenessofour
emotions,which
motivatesyouto
takeaction,commit,
follow-throughandwork
towardtheachievement
ofourgoals.empathy
Theabilitytodiscern
thefeelingsofothers,
understandtheir
emotions,andutilise
thatunderstandingto
relatemoreeffectively.SocialSkillS
Buildrelationships,lead,With technology advancing at such a rapid pace
and talks of ai making its Way into the boardroom,
you’ll be pleased to know that developing your emotional intelligence will give you the
edge over even your robotic counterparts. EQ advant-Edge networx’s andrea kellerman,
an educational psychologist specialising in neurofeedback, hypnotherapy and emotional
intelligence, and Jenna dias, a counsellor specialising in neurofeedback, explain that EQ,
our emotional quotient, sets the stage for our ability to succeed in life.24 / september 2019 gq.co.za