Forget IQ, it's all about emotional intelligence

EmotionalIntelligence.pngYou may have heard the term 'Emotional Intelligence' (EQ) thrown around the workplace. Coined in 1990 by psychology professors John D. Mayer and Peter Salovey, emotional intelligence is not just the ability to perceive and understand your own and others emotions, but the insight into what these emotional cues mean in regards to forming and managing relationships.

But is EQ more important than IQ for business communication? Surely IQ would be the gold standard in determining a person's job performance, right? Apparently not.

Why emotional intelligence matters

Interestingly, emotional intelligence has been found to positively affect job performance and attitude, and plays an important part of office efficiency.

"Research shows convincingly that EQ is more important than IQ in almost every role, and many times more important in leadership roles," Dr Stephen Covey, author of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" is quoted as saying.

Similar to IQ, the more in tuned you are with your emotions and those of others, the higher your EQ. But how do you measure this, what indicators are there? The Harvard Business Review sums it up in a few key skills:

  • Self-awareness
  • Self-regulation
  • Motivation (the ability to work beyond money and reward)
  • Empathy for others
  • Social skills (like managing and building relationships and networks)

What do these points have in common? Well, they all have something to do with communication. This might be an interesting piece of information for businesses that rely on regular interaction between customers and clients. Strategies like unifying your communications may facilitate the development of your staff's EQ.

What does this mean for business? 

At Fonality, we can assist you with making communication the least of your concerns. Take our Heads Up Display (HUD) for example. In a nutshell, it boosts business productivity by combining your channels into a single application. This gives your employees the freedom to build and manage relationships with ease, improving their EQ as they work.CTA_7Trends.png

The same applies to improving your call center. The better a person is at identifying and responding to emotional cues during a conversation, the more likely a positive outcome from the interaction. You'd want an advanced system in place to let this communication happen naturally, without interruption or dropping a call.

Modern communication is constantly changing. So as a first step, take a look at our FREE eBook, 7 Trends Reshaping Business Communications, to get the EQ of your organization on track.

Tara Banda