Perhaps a good balance of both?
In an ideal world as we make our way through life we would have achieved a good balance of both, but for many of us, an improvement in our level of Emotional Intelligence would offer us the increased success we desire both within business and our personal lives.
Experience and observation show that people can often rise to great heights of achievement, win many promotions, make money and, to all the world, look like the vision of success and yet still feel unfulfilled. They know they can do more, they know they are capable of greater success and yet it eludes them.
Sometimes reaching an upper limit, having never failed before, suddenly they are stopped from progress, reaching a ceiling above which they do not seem to be able to burst through. For some it is just the confusion of ‘fitting in’ and feeling they are enjoying the very best of their relationships with both work colleagues and in their personal lives.
This is the IQ v EQ moment. Often the block to progress is emotionally based. A deep-seated belief about themselves that continually sabotages them or knowing that ‘something’ gets in the way but not being clear about what it might be. It is not a reflection of any cognitive ability more a reflection of an untutored emotional ability.
We understand the definition of IQ to be the measurement of a person’s apparent intelligence by use of intelligence testing. IQ is accepted as being the measure of cognitive abilities, such as the aptitude to learn or understand; the skilled use of reason; the ability to analyse and prioritise. EQ can best be described as the ability to understand your own emotions and those of others, and being able to use this information to bring about the best results for everyone. The ability to ‘walk a mile’ in someone else’s shoes is an invaluable skill. The ability to understand what someone else needs in order for them to do the best possible job can motivate others in a way that intellectual reasoning alone will just not manage. Knowing where emotions come from and being able to manage your own and those of others. Knowing what emotions mean and what information they are providing.
The ability to combine cognitive knowledge with emotional knowledge and use them together is the secret to assured success in the business place and in one’s personal life.
Studies over recent years consistently show that individuals who enjoy the very greatest success, both business and personal, are those whose emotional intelligence was high. Intellect, a cognitive ability, was to some extent, an indicator of success; the ability to see the bigger picture and have a long-term vision were particularly present. But predominately strong emotional intelligence indicators were the most constant in individuals enjoying the greatest success. This is especially acute in top performers where technical skills have become of negligible importance.
Clearly strong skills in self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship perception are what affords the most successful individual the edge in gaining supreme success, business or personal.
Angela