EQ & IQ
What is emotional intelligence?
‘’EQ refers to the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions’’ – verywellmind.com.
While ideas of people having different sets of intelligence had been floated before, it wasn’t until the 1980’s that the term ‘’emotional intelligence’’ was first used.
It’s our ability to read and interpret emotions, both our own and of others. Doing this successfully can help improve our relationships with others, help manage situations better, help put things into perspective, develop greater empathy, among other benefits.
While it may be thought that this is something that just comes naturally to people, it is something that can be developed and improved through practice.
How is it different to IQ?
IQ more relates to our ability to successfully interact with technical problems, knowledge, things, and how we process and reason with them. EQ is similar in a sense, but just with people instead.
Having a high IQ does not mean you have an equal EQ, and vice versa. While IQ has long been held as a standard of how we should measure ‘intelligence’, EQ has gained ground in more recent times, as while IQ can be a signal of how successful someone may be at completing a task in their work, EQ is a signal of how well someone may work with others in their team while completing the same task. Each has their own benefits.
Why is is important?
There are many reasons why EQ is becoming more prominent in workplaces and similar settings. While having the best technical minds with high IQs in a position may seem like the best way to ensure the best work is done, it’s not a guarantee you will come out with the best overall outcomes.
There is a bigger focus today on having a positive work culture, more diversity of thought, and more adaptable leadership. Having a bigger focus on people’s EQ helps establish a group of people that will work together better, that will be willing and open to hear other opinions and take them on board, and have people in leadership roles that are able to better understand peoples differences and know how to best focus and encourage them.
It can sometimes be that we spend more time with our work colleagues than our own friends and family and I’ve always thought myself that because of this it’s vital to have a focus on EQ. I’ve come across many instances where people want to leave a job, not due to the work itself, but due to colleagues they have that treated them, and others, badly. It can be unfortunate to see how much impact it can have on a person’s mental health. Therefore EQ is vital and should be factored in whenever possible.