For Immediate Release:
Dateline: Lehigh Valley,
PA
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Emotional Intelligence Tests Why You Need Emotional Intelligence In Today’s Workplace It used to be thought that IQ was the main determining factor in workplace success. Some companies still operate under this belief! But now we have evidence pointing towards emotional intelligence as a must-have for all workers, from the front line to the C-Suite. Being emotionally intelligent can help you climb the workplace ladder, enhance your work life, and improve your wellbeing. And maybe most importantly, there is strong evidence that emotional intelligence will protect you from a robot taking your job. Whether you’re an executive, line manager or associate, you’ll benefit by understanding your emotional intelligence. Here’s why emotional intelligence in the workplace is even more important than IQ. What Is Emotional Intelligence? Emotional intelligence refers to your ability to handle both your own and others’ emotions. It requires empathetical solutions and an understanding of how others are feeling. Emotionally intelligent people use their emotions to enhance their reasoning and choices. Daniel Goleman, who popularized the term, says there are five main components that go into emotional intelligence. These are self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, motivation, and social skills. People with high emotional intelligence thrive in these five areas. If you’re emotionally intelligent, you’ll approach situations with calm and empathy. You’ll read the emotions of the other party, the room, etc. and use that to better the situation. This can be applied to conflict management, workplace meetings, and even sales calls. Self Awareness highlights the importance of knowing yourself and your emotions. This includes strengths, weaknesses, and your ability to take criticism. Motivation is a passion for work and achievement. Those with high EQs are motivated, energetic, and want to spread this motivation to others. Empathy is an understanding of others. You can put yourself in another’s shoes and understand how they’ll react to situations. Social skills relate to teamwork, leadership, and cooperation. You’re eager to cooperate and socialize and grow from these interactions. Self Regulation is the ability to control yourself and your emotions. You can control when you get angry at a situation, and when to show positivity. How to Test Your Emotional Intelligence ? Like IQ, emotional intelligence can be assessed. But whereas IQ is more concrete, emotional intelligence can be taught, developed, and improved by anyone who makes the effort. Googling “emotional intelligence test” gives you pages of quizzes to measure your EQ. Some of these may help determine how emotionally intelligent you are, but most aren’t science-backed or validated. The most trustable EQ tests are made and distributed by qualified psychologists. One of these is the Emotional Quotient Profile, or the EQ Profile test. Managers give these to workers to test their EI, and many choose to take the test themselves for both career and leadership development. After mentoring, coaching, or other means to help boost EQ, the best way to assess improvement is to get feedback from others about you handle yourself and others during stressful and complex times. One very popular to do this is through 360 multi-rater feedback. Are you empathetic when you handle situations? Do you strive to motivate, and are you good at vetting others’ emotions? Do people tend to come to you with issues, and do your emotionally-driven solutions lead to good outcomes? If so, you’re probably high in emotional intelligence. The great thing about EQ is that it’s obtainable. IQ is more-or-less set in stone, but EQ can be learned and improved over time. The first step is assessing your emotional intelligence. Use one of the testing methods in the above section. Assess how you handle situations, and ask for feedback from others on how they perceive your ability to handle situations. Be aware of every interaction you can. Work on handling situations with empathy and understanding. Don’t be cold and logical — find the balance between IQ and EQ. Cooperate in meetings and ask questions. When you’re on the phone to someone, try and determine how they’re feeling and play off that. Empathize with them, relate with them, and offer them your honest sympathy and attention every second of the conversation. If you’re met with criticism don’t fly off the handle. Be patient and take that criticism to heart. The most important way to grow is by turning criticism into improvement. If there’s an area where you’re criticized, it’s likely that’s the area you should focus on improving. There are even classes now that can help you increase your emotional intelligence! They’ll teach you the importance of EQ, how to better handle situations, and how to follow the five factors that lead to a high EQ. If you’re having trouble improving on any of these areas, this may be the choice for you. Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace It’s easy to underestimate the value of emotional intelligence in the workplace. But being emotionally intelligent makes work easier, and improves your working relationships. Looking for job security, career growth, and a good life? It’s not always about intellectual smarts. Most often success comes from emotional intelligence, how you handle yourself in a given situation. Work hard to keep learning, grow your knowledge, and be emotionally intelligent. Individuals with a balance of average or higher IQ and high EQ are what top performers are made of.
About Success Performance Solutions
Since 1996, Success Performance Solutions has established itself as an HR leader in pre-hire and leadership assessment, respected by both clients and peers. Its portfolio of testing includes administrative and technical skill testing, DISC behavioral profile, personality job fit, cognitive testing, emotional intelligence, and adaptability quotient.
About Ira S Wolfe
Ira S Wolfe is a “Millennial trapped in a Baby Boomer body” and the world’s first Chief Googlization Officer. He is president of Poised for the Future Company, founder of Success Performance Solutions, a TEDx Speaker, host of Geeks Geezers Googlization podcast, and frequent presenter at SHRM and business conferences. Ira is also recognized as one of the Top 5 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Future of Work and HR by Thinkers360. His most recent book is Recruiting in the Age of Googlization, now in its 2nd edition, is recognized by multiple organizations as one of the top Business, HR and Recruiting books to read in 2021. He is also the founder of the Googlization Nation community and a frequent contributor to HR and business blogs, including Cornerstone's OnDemand and Medium.
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