Starting a
business is very tough and time-consuming and most entrepreneurs would vouch
for the fact that it is both physically and psychologically draining
experience. Only the most motivated, goal-oriented and passionate people can
succeed in their ventures and dare we say most successful entrepreneurs have a
high level of Emotional Intelligence/ Quotient (EI / EQ).
But what is
the relation between business success and EI?
Does a person with higher Intelligent Quotient (IQ) but lower EQ stand a
better chance at succeeding in business or will a person with a higher EQ more
often than not score over a person with higher IQ but lower EQ.
According to
Travis Bradberry, co-founder of TalentSmart and author of bestselling book
"Emotional Intelligence 2.0"; there is a direct co-relation
between EI and success in the workplace. In his research, Bradberry found high
emotional intelligence among 90 per cent of top performers, but in only 20
percent of bottom performers.
According to
Bradberry, EI is composed of four core skills under two primary competencies
Ø Personal Competence: Self-awareness and self-management skills. It
focuses on your ability to be aware of your emotions and manage your own
behavior and tendencies.
- Self Awareness: Recognizing your emotions as they build.
- Self Management: Using awareness of your emotions to control your behavior.
Ø Social competence: Social awareness and relationship management
skills. It is your ability to understand other people’s moods, behavior and
motives in order to respond effectively and improve the quality of your
relationships.
- Social Awareness: Perceiving others' emotions.
- Relationship Management: Using awareness of others' emotions to manage interactions.
Emotional
intelligence means to be sensitive and aware of other people's emotions and
having the ability to intuitively facilitate improved performance based on this
knowledge. It can help you identify when your team members are burnt out,
frustrated or have feelings that could impact their work. It also helps to keep
your own emotions in check. EI gives you
the most balanced perspective about your course of action thereby leading to
higher productivity and better interaction with all the stakeholders. After all, the ability to successfully
interact with others is one of the essential factors for the long-term success
of your company. Leaders must be able to communicate effectively and step out
of their own emotional comfort zone so as to collaborate with others to take
their companies on the path of success.
Ø Emotional intelligence can be
acquired and improved with practice
The best
part about emotional intelligence is that people with low emotional
intelligence need not despair. Emotional
intelligence can be acquired and improved with practice. Improved EI also leads to better mental
health. So EI not only influences your
business results, but also impacts your happiness.
In the book Making Sense of Emotional
Intelligence, Professors Malcolm Higgs
and Victor Dulewicz who researched on EI say, “Investing in EI training
improved individuals,’ EI by 18 percent…. Conservative estimates suggest that
[this] would lead to a 150 percent increase in pre-tax profits.”
Business
owners must keep in mind that their employees are people, who have their own
lives, priorities and emotions which drive their thinking and actions.
After all,
as an entrepreneur and a business leader you are not responsible just for
yourself but are directly responsible for the success of your companies which
can only be achieved by driving your employees with empathy and by
understanding that your employees are humans first and workers second.
No wonder
Statistics from Harvard, Stanford, and Carnegie Foundation show that 85–87% of
our success is due to emotional intelligence soft skills, and personal skills.
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Thanks for sharing this blog; I have gotten lot of information about emotional intelligence. Keep posting!!
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