The Top Emotional Intelligence Mistake In Business
February 3rd, 2007 by Galba Bright
IQ is dead, long live EQ
There was a time when businesses felt that they should hire the brightest people. In those days, IQ scores separated the wheat from the chaff. We now know that the confidence that we used to place in IQ was the biggest Emotional Intelligence mistake of all.
The question is : “How are you smart?”, not “How smart are you?”
In the 1980s, Harvard University professor, Howard Gardner broke the iron grip of IQ with his concept of multiple intelligence.
He explained that, in addition to our logical-mathematical, linguistic and spatial intelligences, we also have the gift of bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. (watch Michael Jordan in action), musical intelligence (listen to Mozart) and interpersonal intelligence (be inspired by Martin Luther King Junior).
Naturalistic intelligence also moves many of us. We often feel refreshed and inspired after a walk in the fresh air.
Gardner also highlighted the importance of intrapersonal intelligence, the ability to be smart about oneself. The gift of intrapersonal intelligence is closely mirrored by the competency that what we now call Emotional Intelligence.
EQ delivers superior business results
Daniel Goleman’s book “Working With Emotional Intelligence” showed that emotional intelligence boosts firms’ bottom line performance. The Consortium for Research in Emotional Intelligence in Organisations also produced a solid business case for Emotional Intelligence here
Perhaps many businesses continue to base their hiring and people development decisions on IQ scores and technical skills in spite of evidence about the power of EQ because of nostalgia for that “old time friend,” IQ.
IQ may initially get your people through the door, but your EQ will determine how far they go.
A new study reminds us that firms ignore EQ at their peril. Over at The Law People Blog, Ronda Muir summarises the key findings of a new book called “Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose” by Rajendra Sisodia, David Wolfe and Jagdish N. Sheth.
The authors show that the companies that had more emotionally intelligent employees enjoyed stronger bottom line performance than those who didn’t.
For example:
• 90% of top individual performers across industries had high Emotional Intelligence ratings compared with only 20% of low performers.
• People who raised their Emotional Intelligence were roughly 25% more productive than before.
• Insurance agents with high Emotional Intelligence sold twice as much in policy premiums as agents with lower emotional intelligence ratings.
In a related post, link, Ronda also describes research conducted by her company that shows that excellent lawyers tend to have higher EQ scores than others in their field.
Businesses that dismiss or ignore the benefits of Emotional Intelligence are missing out on a powerful way to boost their bottom line. High EQ and excellent business performance go hand in hand.
Have you found a place for EQ in your business, or is your company still making the top Emotional Intelligence mistake?
What’s Next?
Do you feel that your employees’ emotions play a role in whether or not your company is successful?
Does your company factor EQ into it’s hiring and personnel development decisions?
This article is part of the EQ 101 series.
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Posted in Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, Multiple Intelligence, Stories, Emotional Intelligence 101, Competencies, Blog, People Skills, Managing Yourself, Influencing Others, Improving Productivity, Career Development, Self Awareness |
