RECENT STORIES

Church donates to Cal Arts Rwanda Genocide Library ( Eve Bushman )
Hart Boys and Girls Baseball honors Terry Tull ( Mike Lyons )
School means good nutrition, too! ( Janis Flippen )
Look up in the sky ... It's clean air! ( Laura Ullrich )
College of the Canyons to host fundraising seminar ( Stephanie Corral )

share a story | more postings »

YourHub.com \\ Santa Clarita Valley \\ Stories \\ Valley Voices

DO YOU KNOW YOUR EQ?

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

Contributed by: Debbie Campbell ,Ph.D. on 3/6/2008

EQ, or Emotional Quotient, is a measurement of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence refers to one's ability to succeed in coping with life's daily demands as well as effectively managing oneself and relating to others. "EQ" was originally postulated in 1985 by Psychologist, Reuven Bar-on. Bar-on developed an assessment to measure and understand more about why some people are more successful than others, given that there are many people with high IQ (cognitive intelligence) who are in fact not very successful.

Bar-on's assessment is a self-report which measures one's ability in many areas including interpersonal relationships, flexibility, impulse control, assertiveness, independence, self regard, self awareness, stress tolerance, social responsibility, empathy, problem solving, reality testing, happiness, optimism, and self actualization. The wonderful thing about emotional intelligence is that it can be developed! Therefore, it is very helpful to understand your own strengths and area of development in emotional intelligence to become even more successful. Bar-on has also developed an EQ-I test for youth (ages 7-15). Early awareness and assessment could be a competitive edge for young people. We all know it is harder to change when habits are really ingrained and have been part of our make-up for years!

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE WOKPLACE
Another maverick in the field of emotional intelligence, Daniel Goleman has also done a great deal of research on the importance of emotional intelligence. Goleman found that emotional intelligence is important in business as 80% of competences linked to star performers are related to emotional competencies. It makes sense, doesn't it? Have you ever had a really bad (or ineffective) boss? What qualities contributed to this boss' poor management skills? More often than not, interpersonal skills lack of empathy, and poor impulse control are key derailers for executives and bosses.

A boss high in emotional intelligence will be a better leader. Since the mood of a leader is contagious, this boss' happiness, optimism, and higher self-actualization will create an environment where employees are more motivated and can perform better in the workplace resulting in lower turnover and higher employee productivity. If this boss is adept in empathy and building personal relationships, employees will feel valued, and will be recognized for their strengths and coached and mentored to address areas of development. The leader's good stress tolerance and ability to remain calm under pressure will help his direct reports feel more confident and secure within the workplace.

EQ is twice as important as IQ and technical expertise combined. Have you ever had a boss who was a technical genius but a poor manager? It is important to have adequate emotional intelligence skills to really be an effective boss. Therefore, skills and knowledge are necessary but not sufficient for success as a leader or manager.

Another business application of emotional intelligence can be seen in the entrepreneur. How much more successful can that entrepreneur be if he is flexible, and is good at tending and building relationships with others (his customers or clients)? Of course, satisfied customers and a wide network of contacts and relationships will lead to a more successful business.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AT HOME
Another place higher emotional intelligence is helpful is at home. How much are we able to bond with our partner and our children? How much can we be empathic to what is going on with them? How effective are we in managing anger and frustration rather than "flying off the handle'? Our children in particular are "sponges" who pay far more attention to what we do than what we say. It is important we model good self management skills if we hope to raise a child who has good self-control.

Our relationship with our partner will be more harmonious and successful if we have the ability for empathy and if we know how to tend and build that bond and relationship. Do you try to see an issue from your partner's perspective or are you more likely to derail into divisive discourse as to who is "right"? Can you agree to disagree? Have you made enough "deposits" of positive time together and supportive interactions to build the emotional bank account with your partner?

TIPS TO DEVELOP EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
As I said earlier, the wonderful thing about emotional intelligence is that it can be developed. The first step is becoming aware of what areas you need to develop. An assessment such as the Bar-on EQ-i can help you determine this. The Bar-on EQ-i is an online assessment which takes about 15 minutes. It must be administered by a trained professional. This is a service I offer and you can find out more information by calling me or going to my website www.successcoachingbydrdebbie.com. I also do emotional intelligence trainings and assessments for companies (most recently Mattel and Warner Brothers).

By developing emotional intelligence, you build new connections and pathways in your brain. Like any new behavior, it takes practice and repetition to really change behaviors and habits. You must be committed to the changes that you wish to see.
1.) Do further reading about Emotional Intelligence. Examples include "Primal Leadership" by Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee, and The Emotional Intelligence QuickBook by Bradberry and Greaves (which includes a free online EQ assessment).
2.) Identify the areas (as listed above) which you know need improvement and come up with a plan as to how to address that area. For example, if you struggle with impulse control, post and practice PRC "Pause, Reflect, and Choose" before reacting to upsetting situations. Take some time and think of (even write out) different ways of responding. Choose.
3.) Ask a friend or colleague to pay attention to your new behaviors and give you feedback as to how you are doing. Accountability and support are important in committing to and allowing for change.

AN ACTION STEP
I challenge you to identify and develop 2-3 areas of emotional intelligence. Which areas will you target? What plan will you make to improve these deficiencies? Make it happen. You'll be glad you did!

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story