Emotional Intelligence for Professional Success

It’s a popular misconception that emotional intelligence is largely irrelevant in business, and doesn’t equate with professional performance. However, a recent study of emotional intelligence, (along with 33 other important workplace skills,) found that emotional intelligence is the single strongest predictor of workplace performance, accounting for a full 58% of success in all types of jobs.

Furthermore, similar studies have found that 90% of top performers are also high in emotional intelligence. On the flip side, just 20% of bottom performers are high in emotional intelligence. You can be a top performer without emotional intelligence, but the chances are slim.

"Naturally, people with a high degree of emotional intelligence make more money—an average of $29,000 more per year than people with a low degree of emotional intelligence. The link between emotional intelligence and earnings is so direct that every point increase in emotional intelligence adds $1,300 to an annual salary. These findings hold true for people in all industries, at all levels, in every region of the world. We haven’t yet been able to find a job in which performance and pay aren’t tied closely to emotional intelligence."

~ Entrepenuer.com

A person with a high emotional intelligence is more likely to be aware of and manage his/her behavior in stressful workplace situations. That balance lends itself to improved decision-making and leadership. A person with a high emotional intelligence level is also likely to be better at “reading” the emotions in others, thereby engaging them for more profitable and mutually beneficial outcomes, whether that be in sales, management, customer service or team projects.

The good news is that unlike an individual’s mostly fixed IQ, studies have demonstrated that emotional intelligence is malleable and capable of being improved upon throughout life. Coupled with the strong, aforementioned statistics demonstrating its measurable professional value, the ability to improve one’s emotional intelligence virtually necessitates serious professional consideration regardless of industry or even current emotional intelligence level.

Every individual is capable of improving his/her emotional intelligence and gleaning the almost immediate benefits that come with this heightened self-awareness. The Emotional Intelligence (EIQ-2) assessment offers us a roadmap to begin and continually refine this simultaneously personal and professional endeavor.