By Daniel Bobinski
Here’s an amazing statistic: two thirds of the difference between average performers and top performers is emotional intelligence (EQ). Notice I didn’t say the difference between poor performers and top performers. That’s because research involving 200 companies worldwide shows that in middle management and technical positions, it’s predominantly EQ that separates top performers from average performers.
This is why an article titled “Can you really improve your emotional intelligence” published by Harvard Business Review asks, “Who wouldn’t want a higher level of emotional intelligence?” It’s a great question. The article cites studies showing that high EQ boosts career success, entrepreneurial potential, leadership talent, health, relationship satisfaction, humor and happiness.
The problem? Not everyone wants to boost their EQ. Why not? Because when some people get promoted based on their technical skills, they may believe they received their promotion because of how they have been treating – or mistreating – people, and not in spite of it.
I’ve seen employees with great technical skills, but poor interpersonal skills receive a promotion or two, but then blame others when the promotions stop. They don’t look within. Instead, they blame the people on their team, saying they aren’t working hard anymore. They might even think others are trying to sabotage them.
The research is pretty clear. If people want promotions – or start getting promotions again – it helps if they improve their EQ. As the famous motivational speaker Zig Ziglar often said, 80 percent of promotions happen because of good people skills; only 20 percent happen because of good technical skills.
You have to want it
The first step in improving one’s EQ is having a desire to do so, but getting to that point can be tough. It’s an unpleasant comparison, but just like alcoholics can’t get better until they admit their alcoholism, some people needing to learn EQ have a tough time realizing that until they’re made aware that they’ve hit a brick wall.
Oftentimes the Zig Ziglar quote above is a good motivator. Other positive reasons include higher levels of effectiveness and efficiency due to better conflict resolution skills and improved esprit de corps. It can also be motivating to see that higher levels of productivity often lead to better salaries and better chances for promotion.
That said, people must understand that practicing emotional intelligence is a choice.
With that in mind, if you think you want to beef up your EQ (and yes, EQ is learnable), why not do some research into it?
If you’re already familiar with EQ and know some people who aren’t (but need to be), might I suggest finding a way to bring it up in discussion? If you do, talking about EQ’s benefits is an effective way to get people curious. Find out if they want to improve their career, develop better leadership skills or have improved relationships.
You might also point out that having a strong EQ is two-thirds of the difference between being an average and a top performer. But also point out that if they want strong EQ, they must first want to learn it.
– Daniel Bobinski is author of the best-selling book, “Creating Passion-Driven Teams,” and president of Leadership Development, Inc. He’s been helping organizations of all shapes and sizes since 1989. Learn more at www.eqfactor.net or reach him at DanielBobinski@protonmail.com or 208-649-6400.
