How emotionally intelligent are you? It could be more important than your IQ when it comes to career success.
As most of us know, a certain level of IQ is an asset. It can be good for academic success and job performance.
Naturally, we’ve always been led to believe that your IQ is a measure of your intelligence, and those with a higher IQ are more intelligent.
However, that’s not necessarily true.
Essentially, your IQ is based on your age against your score in a series of standardised tests. And, as we all know, there are plenty of different ways a person can be intelligent, which means standardised tests should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Dr Steve Bressert believes that IQ counts for roughly 10pc of our success. So, those who don’t have a high IQ shouldn’t panic about their future prospects just yet.
In fact, many argue that a person’s emotional intelligence (EQ) is just as important, if not more so than their IQ.
There are key emotional and personality skills that will get you much further in life than intellect alone, and this is measured by your EQ.
You might think that your EQ is more for everyday life and social situations, but it is actually an essential ingredient to a successful working life. Not only will it help you deal with stress better, it will also help you resolve conflict, solve problems and better focus on the task at hand.
According to the infographic below from the Brighton School of Business and Management, one study tested more than 180 executives on their EQ and compared this data to each company’s profitability.
Unsurprisingly, those who scored higher on the emotional level were more likely to turn a profit.
On the flip side, those with a lower EQ were more likely to crack under pressure, miscommunicate and blame others for problems.
The infographic also suggests that EQ matters twice as much as technical knowledge or IQ.
Check out the infographic for more on the importance of EQ, along with some seriously successful CEOs who rank highly on this scale.
Infographic: Brighton School of Business and Management
