Online With The Professional Image

A bi-monthly newsletter on building professional presence

Greetings!

Harry Truman said that "C" students rule the world. A lot could be read into that, but I think that Ike was addressing the power of personal persuasion, which comes from understanding emotion, not memorizing data.

Daniel Goleman wrote the first book on Emotional Intellligence entitled EQ: Why It Can Matter More than IQ. He described it as the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.

This month's newsletter will address what is believed to be more important to success than IQ, SAT scores, or GPA...that critical element of Emotional Intelligence. Unlike cognitive intelligence scores that only show up on resumes or maybe in H.R. files, our emotional intelligence shows up every day, all the time!

We welcome your thoughts and comments.

Warm regards,

Emotional Intelligence: More Important than IQ?

The business community was rocked by the research that Daniel Goleman's book presented in 1995, that up to 90 percent of one's performance effectiveness and ultimate professional success is due to emotional savvy rather than technological knowledge.

For years it had been considered inappropriate to show or to have emotions in a work situation. But today, an overwhelming amount of research shows that not only are emotions very much a part of the work experience, but to a large degree they set the course that a company follows.

What social scientists have found is that IQ scores account for as little as 25% in predicting future success in college. In the work environment, technical savvy and knowledge may contribute as little as four to ten percent towards performance effectiveness, depending on the type of work being done.

Unlike IQ, which is set and mostly unchangeable from childhood on, the good news is that emotional intelligence can be developed, and in fact, usually does become greater with age and maturity. Over and over we see the importance of developing one's emotional intelligence as absolutely essential to success in the workplace. Knowing when not to comment, when to speak up, or when to show genuine empathy is EQ at work.

But even as highly intelligent and civilized adults, we can never completely disengage our emotional brain. It is always there, sending emotional signals to act and react, even when there is no logic behind it. EQ is our buffer, our choice - not our impulse. We can choose appropriately by accessing our emotional intelligence. Most people believe that emotions at work are caused by events. They are in fact caused by our interpretations of events. Many successful professionals, with high EQ, interpret essentially all events as positive or at least personal growth opportunities. Keeping the optimism levels high, they create a positive emotional zone where people do their best work.

So here are 3 suggestions for increasing your own EQ. Let us know if they make a difference in your life.

1. Consciously choose to live "above the line," that place at work and in your personal life where you are thriving, motivated, productive and confident. EQ will help you make the wise decisions that put you above the line and keep you there.


2. Enroll a buddy or a coach at work to give you feedback, both negative and positive, on what they see that you may not be seeing in your actions and responses. Elicit their feedback and stay non-defensive.


3. Practice impulse control. Every e-mail becomes a permanent record. Every conversation can change a relationship. We have a responsibility to choose our emotions and leave our workplace a better place, every day.

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