IQ vs EQ and Your Career

 

Let’s take a look at IQ vs EQ in relation to your career. Having a high IQ is no longer enough. Today, EQ plays a much more important role.

Of course, if you have both that’s a gift, but at any rate, I encourage you to think about your EQ and how you can make it a priority every single day. It will serve you well in life, I promise.

IQ vs EQ

EQ is like a game of tennis game—between you, yourself, and the people you communicate with daily. It’s never ending and needs constant care and maintenance.

EQ is a lifetime challenge because it doesn’t only involve dealing with your own emotions, but understanding and adapting to the emotions of others. You have to constantly be aware of how you come across different scenarios and understand who your audience is to elicit the best response from them.

Reading other people’s emotions and being socially aware enough to tailor your communications accordingly is a huge thing to do and a skill like no other.

Another way to look at EQ is “relationship management.”

If you can master how to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team, and manage conflict, then your personal and professional relationships will flourish.

The first step to improving EQ is being conscious of your own emotions so that you can identify them and pinpoint their root cause. Once you’re cognizant of how you arrived at a specific emotion, you can work your way to the required emotional state and take your stakeholders along with you. This allows you to communicate more effectively and forge stronger relationships.

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Possessing a high EQ means:

• Being aware that emotions can drive our behavior and impact people (positively and negatively)
• Learning how to manage emotions—both our own and others—especially when we are under pressure

Your Building Blocks for Higher EQ

In a nutshell, the key skills for building your EQ and improving your ability to manage emotions and connect with others are:

• Self-awareness
• Self-management
• Social awareness
• Relationship management

To get started, ask yourself a couple of questions:

• Do you pay any attention to your emotions?
• What kind of relationship do you have with them?

If you can’t answer these both with a resounding “YES,” then you need to start looking deeper at IQ vs EQ as it applies to you. Look in the mirror and make a change. Your career will thank you for it!