Emotional Intelligence EQ

http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/201 /01/0!/emotional"intelligence/

by Travis Bradberry Leadership 1/09/2014

As the bestselling coauthor of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Im often asked to break down what emotional intelligence is and why its so important. Here goes Emotional Intelligence Is the #ther $ind of %mart. When emotional intelligence first appeared to the masses in 199 ! it ser"ed as the missing link in a peculiar finding# people with a"erage I$s outperform those with the highest I$s %&' of the time. (his anomaly threw a massi"e wrench into what many people had always assumed was the sole source of success)I$. *ecades of research now point to emotional intelligence as the critical factor that sets star performers apart from the rest of the pack +motional intelligence is the ,something- in each of us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we manage beha"ior! na"igate social comple.ities! and make personal decisions that achie"e positi"e results. +motional intelligence is made up of four core skills that pair up under two primary competencies# personal competence and social competence. Personal competence is made up of your self/awareness and self/management skills! which focus more on you indi"idually than on your interactions with other people. 0ersonal competence is your ability to stay aware of your

emotions and manage your beha"ior and tendencies.

Self-Awareness is your ability to accurately percei"e your emotions and stay aware of them as they happen. Self-Management is your ability to use awareness of your emotions to stay fle.ible and positi"ely direct your beha"ior.

Social competence is made up of your social awareness and relationship management skills1 social competence is your ability to understand other peoples moods! beha"ior! and moti"es in order to impro"e the 2uality of your relationships.

Social Awareness is your ability to accurately pick up on emotions in other people and understand what is really going on. Relationship Management is your ability to use awareness of your emotions and the others emotions to manage interactions successfully.

Emotional Intelligence& IQ& and 'ersonality (re )ifferent.

+motional intelligence taps into a fundamental element of human beha"ior that is distinct from your intellect. (here is no known connection between I$ and emotional intelligence1 you simply cant predict emotional intelligence based on how smart someone is. Intelligence is your ability to learn! and its the same at age 1 as it is at age &. +motional intelligence! on the other hand! is a fle.ible set of skills that can be ac2uired and impro"ed with practice. Although some people are naturally more emotionally intelligent than others! you can de"elop high emotional intelligence e"en if you arent born with it. 0ersonality is the final piece of the pu33le. Its the stable ,style- that defines each of us. 0ersonality is the result of hard/wired preferences! such as the inclination toward intro"ersion or e.tro"ersion. Howe"er! like I$! personality cant be used to predict emotional intelligence. Also like I$! personality is stable o"er a lifetime and doesnt change. I$! emotional intelligence! and personality each co"er uni2ue ground and help to e.plain what makes a person tick. Emotional Intelligence Is *in+ed to 'erformance. How much of an impact does emotional intelligence ha"e on your professional success4 (he short answer is# a lot5 Its a powerful way to focus your energy in one direction with a tremendous result. (alent6mart tested emotional

intelligence alongside 77 other important workplace skills! and found that emotional intelligence is the strongest

predictor of performance! e.plaining a full 8' of success in all types of 9obs. :our emotional intelligence is the foundation for a host of critical skills)it impacts most e"erything you say and do each day. +motional intelligence is the single biggest predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest dri"er of leadership and personal e.cellence. ;f all the people we"e studied at work! we"e found that 9&' of top performers are also high in emotional intelligence. ;n the flip side! 9ust <&' of bottom performers are high in emotional intelligence. :ou can be a top performer without emotional intelligence! but the chances are slim. =aturally! people with a high degree of emotional intelligence make more money)an a"erage of ><9!&&& more per year than people with a low degree of emotional intelligence. (he link between emotional intelligence and earnings is so direct that e"ery point increase in emotional intelligence adds >1!7&& to an annual salary. (hese findings hold true for people in all industries! at all le"els! in e"ery region of the world. We ha"ent yet been able to find a 9ob in which performance and pay arent tied closely to emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence ,an -e )eveloped. (he communication between your emotional and rational ,brains- is the physical source of emotional intelligence. (he pathway for emotional intelligence starts in the brain! at the spinal cord. :our primary senses enter here and must tra"el to the front of your brain before you can think rationally about your e.perience. Howe"er! first they tra"el through the limbic system! the place where emotions are generated. 6o! we ha"e an emotional reaction to e"ents before our rational mind is able to engage. +motional intelligence re2uires effecti"e communication between the rational and emotional centers of the brain.

,0lasticity- is the term neurologists use to describe the brains ability to change. :our brain grows new connections as you learn new skills. (he change is gradual! as your brain cells de"elop new connections to speed the efficiency of new skills ac2uired. ?sing strategies to increase your emotional intelligence allows the billions of microscopic neurons lining the road between the rational and emotional centers of your brain to branch off small ,arms- @much like a treeA to reach out to the other cells. A single cell can grow 1 !&&& connections with its neighbors. (his chain reaction of growth ensures its easier to kick this new beha"ior into action in the future. ;nce you train your brain by repeatedly using new emotional intelligence strategies! emotionally intelligent beha"iors become habits. )))))

(ra"is Bradberry! Contributor I use emotional intelligence to boost leadership performance.

Dore by me Dy book# +motional Intelligence <.& +motional Intelligence (raining +motional Intelligence Certification