Well, yes. According to a study by Swinburne University, high EQ predicted effective leadership. In another study published by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) in the US found that emotional incompetence was the primary contributor to executive derailments. Numerous other studies also find a link between EQ and workplace performance. This makes sense when you consider what EQ can do for you.
The ability to understand and regulate your own emotions helps you stay calm under pressure, and staying calm means staying rational and making the right decisions. You also model this to your colleagues, helping them stay calm and effective as well. This generates confidence all around, which can make the difference between succeeding or crashing in a crisis.
Similarly, the ability to understand your colleagues’ emotions and motivations puts you in the driver’s seat, particularly if you are in a leadership role. Having empathy for your colleagues builds trust and commitment, and being able to cultivate their intrinsic motivators and abilities makes you one of those leaders who people just want to work for.
This is because our emotions really are in charge when it comes to motivation. Few people realise this, but it’s through our emotions that our bodies motivate us to fulfil our needs. Fear, sadness, anger, shame, guilt and even hatred are all working to keep us safe, achieve our goals, assert our boundaries and remain connected to our social group.
Great leaders intuitively understand that loyalty, commitment and hard work can’t be required – they must be given willingly, and that happens only when the person giving them believes that their boss really cares about who they are and what they need.
Having good IQ and relevant skills and competencies is still important, but few of us work in isolation, so EQ is the skill that really makes you effective in the workplace. A great many successful leaders weren’t particularly good at the tasks of their industry, but they were great at getting other people to perform.
