HOW TO PROTECT YOUR IQ With EQ

Companies could be losing money if they are not managing their employees’ intellectual and emotional intelligence effectively.

Intellectual and emotional intelligence are two core resources a business must have. Having intellectual intelligence is acknowledged and accepted as a vital part of succeeding in life and business but the importance of emotional intelligence, (EQ or EI), is only recently getting the attention it deserves. EQ measures a person’s ability to read, understand, empathize and respond to other peoples’ emotions. By interpreting facial expressions, body language, tone of voice and choice of sentence structures, we can understand someone’s mood and unspoken points of view.

Knowing someone has a vested interested in not agreeing or helping you, gives you an opportunity to address a problem before delegating and experiencing a lack of cooperation. The challenge is, we are not educated to understand that emotions are simply information of how we are experiencing our perception. Therefore, rather than using emotional intelligence for the understanding of each other, we often avoid and fear it, thereby compounding the problems that are natural consequences from not understanding each other’s needs.

Not understanding the importance of EQ could result in damaging office politics, low morale and, ultimately, lost time and money. If people are stressed and feel they are under threat, their brain chemistry changes and they lose adequate access to their IQ. Their objectives shift from seeking to achieve common goals to fighting for individual survival. The blood and oxygen that reside in the logical part of the brain (neo cortexes) moves to the back of the brain when a person is under stress – the part where quick survival decisions are made.

For example, if you are about to be run over by a bus, you don’t need your logical brain to analyse the situation, you need quick reflexes to dive out of the way. Hence when we are under threat in the workplace, our blood flow moves away from the part of the brain we need most to make logical and rational decisions that are best for the company. Instead, we shift our focus to survival, thereby engaging our less intelligent form of animal instinct that proves to be handy in the jungle, but destructive in the workplace.

 

Emotional Intelligence Assessments

ECI, EQ-i and EQ Map – three instruments designed to help individuals assess their Emotional Intelligence, or their ability to sense their own emotions and those of others and use that information to manage themselves and their interactions with others more productively. The Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) is a 360 assessment based on the work of Daniel Goleman ($170). Developed by Reuven Bar-On, the EQ-I can be administered either as a 360 or as a self-assessment ($135). The EQ Map is a self-assessment developed by Esther Orioli of Essi Systems($125).

MAPP (Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential)

Your MAPP assessment reveals your natural motivations and talent for work. When your job matches your true motivations, work seems easier and is more fulfilling. ($180)

What are the EI Competencies? The Four-Quadrant EI Model

Emotional intelligence is the ability to be aware of our own emotions and those of others, in the moment, and to use that information to manage ourselves and manage our relationships optimally. The 24 EI competencies are depicted in the four-quadrant model below:

CEO Partnership - EI Competencies

Definitions of Competencies

Personal Competence
These competencies determine how we manage ourselves

  • Self-Awareness
    Knowing one’s internal states, preferences, resources, and intuition

    • Emotional awareness: Recognizing one’s emotions and their effects
    • Accurate self-assessment: Knowing one’s strengths and limits
    • Personal power: A strong sense of one’s self-worth and capabilities; self confidence
  • Self-Management
    Managing ones’ internal states, impulses, and resources

    • Emotional self-control: Keeping disruptive emotions in check
    • Integrity: Maintaining high standards of honesty and ethics at all times
    • Innovation & creativity: Actively pursuing new approaches and ideas
    • Initiative & bias for action: Readiness to act on opportunities
    • Resilience:  Perseverance and diligence in the face of setbacks
    • Achievement drive: Striving to meet a standard of excellence
    • Stress management:  Working calmly under stress and pressure
    • Realistic optimism:  Expecting success; seeing setbacks as manageable; persisting in achieving goals despite obstacles and setbacks.
    • Intentionality:  Thinking and acting “on purpose” and deliberately.
  • Social Competence
    These competencies determine how we handle relationships
  • Social Awareness
    Awareness of others feelings, needs, and concerns

    • Empathy: Sensing others’ feelings and perspectives, and taking an active interest in their concerns
    • Organizational awareness: Reading a group’s emotional currents and power relationships
    • Service ethic: Anticipating, recognizing, and meeting customers’ needs
  • Social Skills
    Adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others

    • Developing others: Identifying others’ development needs and bolstering their abilities
    • Influence: Wielding effective tactics for persuasion
    • Communication: Listening attentively and fostering open dialogue
    • Conflict management: Negotiating and resolving disagreements
    • Visionary leadership: Inspiring, guiding and mobilizing individuals and groups; articulating a clear, compelling and motivating vision for the future
    • Catalyzing change: Initiating, managing and leading change
    • Building bonds: Nurturing and maintaining relationships, cultivating a wide network; connecting with others on a deeper rather than superficial level.
    • Teamwork & collaboration: Working with others toward shared goals. Creating group synergy in pursuit of collective goals.
    • Building trust:  Being trustworthy and ethical when working and relating to others; ability to establish a bond of trust with others.