You may have been Valedictorian of your high school class. Or graduated magna cum laude from college. You may have aced the SAT, ACT, GMAT, LSAT, and every other exam that measures one’s intellectual acumen. If so, congratulations. Good for you. But your good grades may not be as important a factor in your success as you think.
According to Harvard Business Review, the real key to your professional success, and I will add your personal happiness as well, is your Emotional Intelligence. First identified in 1995 by psychologist and scientific journalist Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence (or EQ) is defined as “the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically”. It’s your ability to recognize the emotions of others and understand and manage your own.
People who effectively use their emotional skills aren’t drama queens (or kings). Goleman says that leaders who have Emotional Intelligence “inspire confidence, commitment, and caring” and get better results. He goes on to say, “Every level of an organization is an emergent property of the one beneath it. You can look at two people interacting and then see how that cascades into teams, groups, and whole organizations.” And the same holds true in families and personal relationships.
Think about it. In organizations, the ability to bring out the best in people translates to bottom-line performance and a happier, healthier workplace culture. And with family and friends, when you bring out the best in others, you create happier, healthier relationships.
So, how smart are you really? How smart are you in what really counts? You may have been the smartest kid in the fourth grade or graduated at the top of your class. You may even be a member of Mensa, but if your Emotional Intelligence is lacking, you could be failing at life and work.
©2019 Julie Alexander
