Why emotional intelligence is vital for career advancement

Why emotional intelligence is vital for career advancement

As a potential candidate, you might look great on paper. See why emotional intelligence is vital for career advancement. Learn how to boost your EQ. Do you have the emotional intelligence it takes to be a great addition to your employer’s team?

As a potential candidate, you might look great on paper. But do you have the emotional intelligence it takes to be a great addition to your employer’s team?

How well you do in your career and life is not determined by how high your IQ is, but rather how high your EQ is.

What’s the difference between IQ and EQ? Traditional measures of intelligence (IQ scores) do not encompass the full range of capabilities of a person. While EQ measures your ability to express, observe, and communicate with emotions. In a way that is beneficial to everyone involved.

Strong EQ for success

While a good IQ may open doors, studies show that it only accounts for 20 per cent of success in life. In the real world, success is influenced by personal qualities. Such as perseverance, self-control and skills in getting along with others — in other words, a strong EQ.

Most recruiters live by this adage: “Hire for personality; train for skill” and are likely to look for people who have a high EQ. In fact, many organizations now include EQ tests before hiring employees. Others have initiated EQ training programs in the workplace.

Why your EQ matters

Many companies are changing their hiring methods to hire people with high EQ. They particularly look for people with the prime EQ qualities of self – awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.

The good news is, unlike IQ, emotional intelligence can be learned and improved with practice. Here are five EQ qualities to master.

Self-awareness

To control your emotions, you must be aware of them. This is where self-awareness comes into play. Those who are self-aware are able to tune into their emotions, which makes them more confident about what they can do and what they have to offer.

Self-regulation

If you’re not in control of your emotions, you can become combative in the workplace or resistant to change. Those who can control their emotions, avoid the temptation to indulge impulses. They take responsibility for their own actions, adapt well in the face of change, and are open to new ideas.

Motivation

Motivated individuals are striving to improve, to meet the next milestone. They are also less likely to get discouraged when faced with setbacks or opposition. Motivated individuals make great sales and marketing professionals. And are often the morale boosters of an organization.

Empathy

Empathy is the ability to recognize how people feel and how your actions can affect them. Those with empathy are perfect for the service sector, and they also make great mediators and negotiators. Since they can pick up on how others feel, they are in a better position to motivate them.

Social skills

Social skills are important regardless of what type of career you have. Successful people communicate effectively. Great communicators are needed for conflict management, team management, leadership roles and tasks where co-operation is necessary.

These five EQ traits can determine how successful you’ll become in the workplace, and your personal relationships as well.

In a world where information is a click away, emotional intelligence will gain greater significance in the days to come. In the modern workplace, the ideal candidate would have a highly analytical brain, while still carrying the attributes of an emotionally intelligent person. A good employee with high EQ can do wonders for a company, take them to new levels and be a source of sustained growth.



I was fortunate enough to have started Tai Chi a moving meditation at a very early age. Practising Tai Chi for over 25 years has allowed me to build a solid foundation to support the most important aspect of EQ development, which is attention training.

If you are interested in supporting yourself or helping the teams you manage, the links below can help you learn more about EQ training.

  1. What is EQ?
  2. Emotional Intelligence Training Course
  3. Learn to meditate with the Just6 App
  4. Meditation and the Science
  5. 7 reasons that emotional intelligence is quickly becoming one of the top sought job skills
  6. The secret to a high salary Emotional intelligence
  7. How to bring mindfulness into your employee wellness program
  8. Google ’Search Inside Yourself’

Featured image from unspalsh – by Clem Onojeghuo