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Decades of research shows high emotional intelligence is the critical factor that sets star performers apart from the rest. In fact, EQ is the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace, and strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence. 

According to author Travis Bradberry's research in Emotional Intelligence 2.0 Step by Step:

• 58% of successful job performance is directly correlated to EQ
• 36% of people can accurately identify emotions as they happen
• 90% of top performers have high EQ 

Understanding emotional intelligence, learning to recognize behaviors associated with low and high EQ, and working on was to improve it for yourself will be one of the most important development practices you can do to increase the quality of your leadership and improve your interactions and relationships.

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Maya Angelou

The difference between IQ and EQ

First let's look at what makes EQ different from the well understood IQ. IQ, or the Intelligence Quotient, is a measure of your brain's ability to process and relate information, recognize patterns, and access working memory.  You are born with a foundational capacity for IQ and it is further developed in early childhood. By early adolescence, IQ stabilizes.  While you will continue to learn, you ability for rational thought and capacity to access working memory remains static relative to the norm for your age.  In this sense, IQ is considered fixed. 

EQ, or Emotional Quotient, on the other hand is flexible.  It can be learned and grow.  This measure of your emotional intelligence indicates your intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social competence. EQ helps us manage our emotions to accomplish goals and helps us manage and maintain relationships.  You can learn to recognize signs of emotional intelligence as well as develop and improve emotional intelligence for better success as a leader. 

Emotional Intelligence Explained

Using the Emotional Intelligence 2.0 framework, EQ can be broken down into two dimensions: Personal Competence and Social Competence.  Personal Competence looks at the awareness of your own emotions and reactions, while Social Competence is how aware you are of the emotions and drivers of others and your ability to successfully navigate interactions and circumstances.  To understand Personal Competence, your ability for Self-Awareness and Self-Management is looked at.  To identify your abilities in Social Competence, the focus is on your abilities in Social Awareness and Relationship Management.

Dimension 1: Personal Competence

• Self-awareness is your ability to accurately perceive your own emotions in the moment and understand your tendencies across situations.
• Self-management is your ability to use your awareness of your emotions to stay flexible and positively direct your behavior.

Dimension 2: Social Competence

• Social awareness is your ability to accurately pick up on emotions in other people and understand what is really going on with them.
• Relationship management is your ability to use your perception of the emotions of those of others to manage interactions successfully.

Recognizing Low and High EQ

Traits of Low Emotional Intelligence

It is important to recognize if those around you have a lower EQ in order to adapt your interactions. It is even more important for your development to be honest with yourself and identify the areas where you have a lower EQ.   Consider the quadrants within Emotional Intelligence 2.0.  You are not going to be strong in all areas, so you must recognize signs of low EQ to improve your emotional intelligence skills. While not exhaustive, here are four traits that are common indicators of lower EQ.

• Argumentative: Do you always need to be right? Those that need to win at all costs find it impossible to understand how critical the feelings and emotions of others are.  
• Doesn't listen: Similarly, the inability to listen to others signals that communication skills and relationships are a challenge for an individual. There could be an over emphasis on IQ and wanted to prove themselves, but this will prove ineffective as others will seem them as oblivious to other's feelings. This insensitivity deters others from working with them and drastically reduces their influence. 
• Blames Others: Do you see how your reaction to a situation can cause problems and discord? Those with lower EQ often don't feel this disruption they can cause, and when circumstances go wrong they will blame others rather than see their role in the conflict. 
• Poor coping skills: How well do you cope with stress, manage your emotions, manage conflict, and recognize the emotions you have in the moment? If you find it difficult to comprehend your emotions or have a disproportionate reaction, then exercises in identifying and leaning into your feelings can help grow. 

Traits of High Emotional Intelligence

It is also good to understand traits and behaviors to strive to while you work on improving your emotional intelligence.  Here are some indicators of a strong EQ.

• Curious: This is growth-mindset at its best.  High EQ individuals are willing and interested in understanding others​, they are intrinsically motivated to learn​, and they are active listeners who are interested in other people's feelings.
• Perceptive: A key strength in EQ is how well a person pays attention to their surrounding coupled with the ability to understand other’s feelings and body language​. We've heard the importance of reading the room, this is the ability to read non-verbal communication and adjust accordingly.​
• Balanced: The balance of reason and logic with feels to make decisions and inform your actions shows someone is adept in their social awareness. This allows someone to work with various kinds of people and bring an even temper to manage a variety of circumstance.  ​
• Resilient: A resilient person is a sign of an all around emotionally well-being person with strong mental health. This is the ability to cope with intense situations and expresses feelings clearly and directly. It is also how you manage and internal relationship. Those that are not dominated by negative emotions, does not internalize failure​, and not immobilized by fear or worry are people with strong resilience. 

As you have learned more about what EQ is, you have hopefully learned it's importance in your professional and personal success. To be more effective and achieve success, you will need to gain the experience to recognize where you need to strengthen your skills and commit to make continual, life-long improvements. 

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